Red Howling
by Perfect Psionic Soldier
Summary: A 3 part One-Shot that will become the foundation of a future series. Based on a whimsical idea of Shadow Skill stuff with touches of Originality.
1. Red Howling Prologue

Red Howling  
  
Naruto / Other Fusion  
  
By Perfect Psionic Soldier  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the various anime/manga thingies. The respective creators do. (I just pretend their mine ~_^)  
  
Before you read on please note that some of this story and or wordings may not make sense to you but please bear with it, as it will become clearer as the story progresses from chapter to chapter.  
  
If you have any questions that weren't answered however, then please send me an email, address given at the Author's Corner, and I will answer them to the best of my abilities.   
  
Note: This takes place after volume 19. Which means that I'm pretty darn far into the series and I hate it cause I can't get enough!!! So there are spoilers and the personality of the character Naruto is going to be changed as I more or less implement other anime stuff into this series! I like it! But that is just my opinion… Hope you Enjoy.  
  
Prologue  
  
Screams filled the air. Death hugged every sense. People and soldiers danced about as they clashed against each other, dancing the very fine dance that separated life and death. It was almost beautiful as the weapons flowed from moment to moment creating a mesmerizing form that had only a single intent.  
  
Death.  
  
  
  
Two distinct factions raged across a large, devastated cityscape that lay within a valley of a mountain. Large barriers made of rocky walls formed natural barriers as it stretched towards the skies, forcing any army to move in from only a single direction, making a perfect location for a city. Within the city however, homes and buildings crumbled and burned as war raged.  
  
  
  
The massive city was in chaos as invaders came in at all sides, the original inhabitants gone as the rumors of drawing war drew closer. The last of the city's fleeing populace long since left as the final vestiges of their empire fell to ruin. Though many had left, many more had instead entered military service, preparing to defend their city to the last.  
  
  
  
Bodies littered the many streets as blood flowed freely from lifeless bodies. Fires raged among the houses as others continued to fight, throwing weapons and clashing in close quarters. Spiritual energy glow among the streets as spiritual skills were thrown against each other, clashing against one another in the ultimate test of spirit and will.  
  
  
  
Soldiers died left and right, friends and family, comrades who risked all in mortal combat. Very few were wounded, the majority of the soldiers died fighting, their fragile existence ending within a single deadly blow. Weapons of metal and skills of spirit raged across the fields of death, mercilessly flitting through those that were deemed enemy.  
  
  
  
Within all the chaos, at the base of the mountain stood the large and proud castle of the Shadowed Sun, hosting their greatest lords as the battle unfolded. Ranks upon ranks of soldiers flowed from the iron gates, spewing into the city before them, meeting their enemies' head on within the walls of their city.  
  
  
  
The defenders, humans and non-humans of the clan of the Shadowed Sun marched outwards, the majority armored heavily in half plate and wielding steel weaponry. In mass numbers, the defenders continued the march as they met their opponents on the battlefield within their own city. Their intent, to protect what was theirs. Their belief in their superiority clashed against those who would think themselves equal to their blessed might of arms.  
  
  
  
They were the mighty and proud empire of the Shadowed Sun, an empire that stretched across the land, brining fear and oppression to those that they deemed lesser and weak. Countless kingdoms near and far were theirs to control. Unfathomable numbers of souls were enslaved under their name, dredging out their meek existence within the empire of their ruling masters, to live and die as the lords desired.   
  
  
  
They were strong and unchallenged, their military, trained and invincible. Their lords were mighty and feared, their strength, limitless. It was they who ruled through the divine right of power. It was they who were worthy.  
  
  
  
On the opposite, were those who valiantly charged in, their spirits of battle shining in the darkness of war. They were the clan of the Nine Tails, a group of people that revered the great nine tailed demon foxes, moved in forward, trudging against the ranks of their hated enemies.  
  
  
  
Their destination was the castle that towered on the horizon. The one goal, their one purpose, the defeat of the oppressive lords of the Shadowed Sun and the final fall of their once proud and might empire. Garbed in lighter armor, they rushed forward, the belief of justice guiding their instincts as they fought to the death in the name of peace.  
  
  
  
They were once among the last of the strong and free. Had they been left alone, they would have been content to simply keep what was theirs. To rule over what little they deemed was theirs. For generation their tribe had lived within the wild lands, caring little for the empire of others. For all that interested them were the beauty of battle, the test of strength against those stronger. They cared little for things like subjection or something as whimsical as sovereignty over others. To them, the fight was all.  
  
  
  
It was the test of single combat that they attempted to live in. For a single sense that they felt during those moments of the fight, a sense that seemed to derive the feeling of life. It was for those moments that they left the conflicts of countries alone, the people preferring the test of mettle in single combat rather then anything else. They were content to let those empires rise and fall as they traveled, following the paths of their hearts. It was through these paths that they had gained the title of world strongest.  
  
  
  
Then they were invaded.  
  
  
  
The empire of the Shadowed Sun with arrogance plowed into their lands, seizing as much as they could grasp. Within weeks, the wild lands of the Nine Tails were overtaken, forcing the clan itself to grudgingly retreat.   
  
  
  
Those that lead the clan of the Nine Tails were proud and stubborn, but not stupid as they easily saw the might of those before them. Instead they ordered all to retreat, to leave their homes as they regrouped to strengthen their numbers as a whole. Though they preferred single combat, nowhere did it ever state that they didn't know how to fight as a clan of proud warriors. They would retreat and leave their lands now, but would one day soon return to reclaim what was theirs.  
  
  
  
The lords took delight in the knowledge that they had once again claimed a country filled with simple and archaic styles of living. They had destroyed a once content culture of uselessness, giving them a small sense of accomplishment as they forced out the last of the frail clan before the might of their armies. They took the coveted title of world strongest as their own, relishing in the namesake that so many other clans craved.  
  
  
  
However, that was the Shadowed Sun's fatal mistake.  
  
  
  
Had they left the single clan alone, the domination of the known land would have been theirs. As the Nine Tails clan would have cared less if the world fell before the might empire as long as they were left alone and were allowed to travel as freely as they had always been allowed.  
  
  
  
For as long as those could remember, the clan of Nine Tails had coveted the title of strongest for a reason. The giant demon known as the Nine Tails Fox Demon were nothing too special in any areas other then quicker self-healing abilities and greater amounts of spiritual power. But, when such a demon was cursed into a human person through various rites, the fox demon's true power became apparent.   
  
  
  
With training, the fox demon became neither dominated nor dominating, instead it existed in coexistence with the human, augmenting its powers with theirs, creating the might of a warrior who could rivaled even the almost unchallenged strength of the Demon Lords.  
  
  
  
In the ensuing years, the clan of the Nine Tails gathered the feeble and scattered souls of the free and began their quest of vengeance. Quickly moving in, they began to conquer what the Shadowed Sun once held.  
  
  
  
From within the new force resided two distinct factions. Though they all used the single symbol of the Nine Tails, the force was divided. To distinguish the two factions, the forehead protectors were set on two different fabrics. Those with the blood red were those that served the clan of the Nine Tails loyally and had roots within. While those that had joined the cause of vengeance in the name of their countries and masters, had their forehead protectors set on simple dark blue fabric.  
  
  
  
The reason for the division was simple. Though it would create some unrest within the ranks, the Nine Tails fought only to defeat the oppressive empire of the Shadowed Sun, they cared little for rule and once their vengeance was complete, they would once again separate and live peacefully among the wild lands, continuing to live as they did before, for the fight.   
  
  
  
From what was once a simple tribe, well known but were once treated indifferently by other clans and countries, instantly became the leading spear as the empire of the Shadowed Sun struggled as they were pierced from all corners of their empire. With the endless harassment and ever growing opposition, the empire quickly began to buckle as they lost men at the front lines while with each liberated country, city and village, the forces of the Nine Tails grew.  
  
  
  
With what was once an invincible empire, it started to crumble at the rim of its territories as the warriors from the Nine Tails clan began to push back their legions of soldiers. The minor Nine Tails clan steadily became more irritable as they slowly took back land, freeing the populace, which in turn quickly joined the crusade, to fight for their respective countries, uniting under a single banner.  
  
  
  
Now with the forces of what was once a small tribe invading their last stronghold, the empire of the faded Shadowed Sun continued fighting bravely, throwing in the last of their might as their own soldiers died on soils they called their home.   
  
  
  
Soldiers fought bravely that day, within the abandoned city, spilling blood as they fought to their bitter end, dying for what they believed in.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
With fists impacting against the frail body of a devil soldier of the Shadowed Sun, a young man stood proudly on the field of battle as his opponent's dead body impacted with the dry ground, raising dust as the limp body bounced once before laying completely still. Within the air rang the cries of battle and the feeling of war as echoes of the living and dying resounded throughout the decimated walls of a once proud and bustling city.  
  
  
  
Garbed in a single tight fighting body suit of simple cloth that was stretched tight against the skin, the young man tensed his muscles out of habit, showing off his toned body for a brief moment before he relaxed again. The body suit itself offered little in the way of protection as it revealed a taut body that flowed into battle unscathed, it was only the skills of his martial arts keeping him balanced on the line that divided life and death. Within a flash, the young man darted into the air as he delivered a graceful reverse spin kick, snapping his opponent's neck in a graceful ark.  
  
  
  
Landing softly, the young man took the few moments to tighten his single fingerless black glove that adorned his right hand. Feeling the memories touch him as he pulled the red and block glove down into his hand. They were memories that would stay with him for the rest of his existence, nestled deeply into his heart.  
  
  
  
Looking down he momentarily studied his memento. It was a tight black glove with red trimmings at the finger holes and wrist. Small holes left openings for his bare knuckles and a single square centered on the back exposed the back of his hand. Well used, the glove had the deepest meaning of heart.  
  
  
  
Raising his head to look about, blonde, spiked hair jounced to and fro before settling back down his head, stopping in front and around his eyes as he felt his forehead protector jostle around his neck with his subtle movements.  
  
  
  
Worn loosely, the forehead protector was inscribed with nine lines arcing upwards. They slightly wavy lines represented tails, nine tails to be exact. With the symbolic nine tails centered on a simple sheet of light but durable metal, the forehead protector was completed as it was set on long, blood red fabric that allowed the person to wear it as they wished.  
  
  
  
Dodging a few thrown daggers, the young man quickly moved in on his attacker, his unrivaled speed allowing him to enter the opponent's space so quickly that the person had little to no time to react before receiving a straight and powerful kick to the neck, breaking it instantly. Looking around for specific people, the young man allowed his opponent's dead body to fall and was instantly spotted by another opponent.   
  
  
  
Quickly rushing in, hoping to capitalize on a young man's absent mind, the attacker's world suddenly exploded in pain as a elbow smashed into the stomach area and was quickly followed by a forceful fist to the face, creating a loud cracking noise that forced the limp and lifeless body to the ground somewhere as other soldiers moved about, ignoring the lifeless body that quickly blended in with the rest.  
  
  
  
With a tense moment, the world around suddenly seemed to cave in on itself for a briefest of moments as explosions rocked the ground. Bodies struggled in the air as a dozen invaders and a hand full of defenders was forced up towards the limitless skies.  
  
  
  
Dirt, stone and bodies hovered in the air, as the young man quietly landed gracefully as he gazed about, his view glancing over dead bodies of allies and foes. Fire illuminated the scenes, reflecting off scattered rubble and various pools of water, some clean while others were tainted with the vibrant colors of blood and life.  
  
  
  
Of the others that went up with him, many landed forcefully, from the dozen allies that were thrown into the air, only four didn't get up. Three of the survivors, injured and disoriented were instantly killed as projectiles pierced their bodies. For another two, they were unfortunate as blades impaled their bodies at close quarters as they attempted to fight back. With the five foes, four were able to survive the explosion and two had used their weapons to impale two soldiers of the invaders, but were in turn quickly cut down by the survivors. Only three allies survived the brutal battle and quickly left to either assist others or rest somewhere safe.  
  
  
  
Looking at the carnage of a single skirmish, the young man briefly wondered who had created the original explosive attack that instantly seemed to claim the lives of five people. Guessing that it was one of the Shadowed Sun as it was mainly invading forces that were killed, but it could have also been a miss from his side. In war, such unexpected results such as that were possible.  
  
  
  
Brushing a lock of blond hair from his eyes, the unscathed young man dropped his question as he continued to look about while he quickly dispatched another opponent. The thickest of the battles was up ahead, where a haze of blood seemed to pervade in the air. Everywhere he looked there was death and soldiers. Body and soul working in coexistence as individuals quickly moved about, using knowledge of mind to survive and kill.  
  
  
  
Sliding to the left and then to the right in order to avoid a blade of fire from another man, the young man gathered soul into his fists, watching as another attacker launched himself at him. With a single blow to the chest, one of the attackers coughed out blood as his chest caved in, instantly killing him. All that the young man saw were the flash of the attacker's forehead protector, a crescent with small spikes on the outside set in ruby red fabric, representing the clan of the Shadowed Sun.  
  
  
  
Then in a swift but deadly motion, the young man spun on one foot as he rotated his hips as he lashed out with a single spin kick. The attacker tried to block but felt his body crumple from the single powerful strike. As the attacker was reeling, the young man surged forward and with one decisive strike from his right palm, he ended the life of another soul.  
  
  
  
Looking down at the two recent kills, as a warrior of the clan of the Nine Tails, he couldn't but help feeling a flash pity for his opponents, as today would be the final battle and the beginning of the Shadowed Sun's final downfall. With the gleam of sunlight, the young man found himself studying their forehead protectors, or more specifically, the color of the forehead protector's cloth.  
  
  
  
Long ago he would have easily mistaken the forehead protectors of the true members of the Nine Tails clan and the Shadowed Sun as they both were set on red cloth, the only difference were the markings and the slightly different color type of the red cloth. Had he not fought in enough battles and been around his clan long enough, he knew that he might have mistaken the two and accidentally attacked an ally. Gritting his teeth, the young man found yet another reason why he preferred the single combat styles he was raised to, it was simpler.  
  
  
  
"Graaa!" a man cried out in pain as his left leg vanished as a ball of pure fire engulfed it. Falling onto his rear while holding a broken arm, he gritted his teeth as he saw a few more orbs of fire heading for him.  
  
  
  
Turning around, the young man quickly took note of the situation and seeing how the injured man wore the markings of the Nine Tails set on red fabric, he didn't hesitate for a moment as he rushed in.  
  
  
  
Grabbing the injured man, he effortlessly dodged the incoming fireballs and stopping a few feet away. Turning around, he watched as a hooded soldier of the Shadowed Sun quickly drew out a short sword and began to charge when suddenly the body stiffened with a muffled cough and slumped to the ground, blood slowly seeping from the person's mouth and nose.  
  
  
  
The young man quickly wondered what other injuries the man before him could have sustained but his thoughts were quickly interrupted.  
  
  
  
"My Lord…" the man stated raggedly through clenched teeth as he held his injured body to himself. There was recognition etched deeply in his voice as pain racked his body, yet he absolutely refused to be insolent to one who was considered a legend among warriors. Breathing heavily, the man gritted his teeth as he slowly lost consciousness, his breathing falling into a ragged pattern.  
  
  
  
"Naruto-kun!" a gentle voice cried out at him, catching his attention immediately as this was one of the people he had been searching for.  
  
  
  
Looking up, the young man couldn't but feel pride as a young woman gracefully walked up to him. She was robed in a long white cape that fell to the ground, the hood withdrawn leaving long beautiful, black hair to flow down her back, reaching close to the ground. With the long cape around her, nothing could have been distinguished about her, other then the fact that she had a gentle and serene face, which was currently brightly smiling.  
  
  
  
Accompanied by a guard of six, who were watching their surroundings intently and attacking those who would harm their mistress. One of the guards then silently walked up to the dead body and deftly withdrew a few clear needles of glass from the person's body, revealing the bloodstained weapons as blood seem to drip onto the earth from crisp air. Remembering the reaction of the victim, the young man quickly came to the conclusion of poison, a very powerful poison.  
  
  
  
With a nod at the injured man, the young woman wordlessly commanded one of her guards to tend to the man. Kneeling before the soldier, one of the guards simply hefted the man into their arms and carried him away to the closest medic for treatment.  
  
  
  
"Kasumi nee-chan!" the young man stated as he smiled brightly. He was always happy when they were near. There was a great deal of pride as he stared at the lady before him. She was his adoptive older sister, who with a gentle heart made him feel at peace while showing him the art of combat that she had only revealed to one other. It made him feel special. His sister was strong and he was ever proud of being considered family.   
  
"Here you are. I was wondering were you had gotten off to." Kasumi said aloud as she studied the young man before her. "Silver dearest would have been irritated if I couldn't have found you sooner."  
  
  
  
Hearing about his adoptive older brother, Naruto couldn't help but form a lopsided grin. If there were any person he could ever idolize it would have been his brother. Strong and lazy, that was his bro in a nutshell.  
  
  
  
Considering what his brother could have wanted, Naruto quickly gave up thinking as his brother was erratic with his wants, ranging from fetching ice cream to assassination in the middle of a pitched battle as he relaxed while others threw a multitude of weapons at him. He did ask for them both that one time in a similar situation, if he recalled correctly…  
  
  
  
"Silver dearest wants you to head over to the east gates and take the eastern half of the castle. We've pushed them back that far but there is no doubt about the inner defenses being strong, so you are assigned twenty-two squads of the first division. You are to engage with any Lords that you encounter, leave the fighting to the others." Kasumi finished as she gave Naruto a warm hug and as she released him, holding him at arms distance as she gently patted his cheek. "You have grown Naruto. This is the last battle so fight your hardest and be confident in your abilities."  
  
  
  
"Thank you nee-sama. I will." Naruto replied as he thought on what he was just told. First division, which only held soldiers of the first rank, meaning that they have all passed the rite of warriors and were considered the elites of the tribe... It reminded him of days long past.   
  
  
  
The first division would have been the equivalent rank of jounins. And he wasn't just given warriors, but squads. Full squads, which meant that each squad, containing four warriors, would also have a person, like himself, a being imbued with a spirit of a nine tailed fox demon…  
  
  
  
With a nod, Naruto gave a quick smile as he ran off towards the east gate, the words, "I'm off!" lingering in the air as he vanished, heading towards his destination.  
  
  
  
Smiling after the vanished Naruto, Kasumi couldn't help but give an approving smile. She remembered Naruto all those years past as if it were yesterday, when she had first seen him. It was on a rainy day that soaked even the endless sky and before her stood her beloved and by him stood a young boy who was soaked and so full energy yet was also so full of pain.  
  
  
  
Raising a left silver, fingerless glove that hugged her hand. Delicate fingers were shown along with pale skin. There was a single small opening centered on the backhand of her glove, while also sporting perfectly fitted openings for her knuckles. Kasumi effortlessly stopped a thrown kunai between her index and middle finger as her attacker closed in.  
  
  
  
With a approving smile of someone with enough skill or luck to pass her guards, Kasumi waited for a few moments as the person closed in the for the kill. Then in a blink of an eye, the attacker laid twitching on the ground, the kunai embedded in the heart as he finished blinking.  
  
  
  
With a slight frown, the young woman scanned her surroundings as she searched for another person. Spotting an area with a haze of blood in the air, she then simply started to trot off, her guards moving with her with the ease of experience. Though they, the guards, were there to protect their mistress. They fought with the confidence that they had their master's trust and the ease of mind, as they knew that even without them there, their mistress could as easily handle herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Over on the eastern side of the battle, near the castle, the area was calm as in the distance laid the eastern half of the castle. Protected by large thick walls with only a single massive iron gate for entry, the castle was well fortified with guards manning the battlements.  
  
  
  
As he drew closer, the feeling of raw power that hummed in the air increased as over twenty squads of first ranked clan members stood at the ready, prepped to fight and sacrifice their lives for the good of their clan and for vengeance.  
  
  
  
With a small step that drew almost all attention to him, Naruto couldn't help but once again feel embarrassed as the warriors present kneeled before him, showing their respect and loyalty to one who was accepted by Silver. Their words so full of pride as in a single voice, they acknowledged him, "Naruto-sama."  
  
  
  
Raising a hand in the traditional gesture to rise, Naruto found himself reminiscing about his past. Once long ago, this was all he had wished for, strength and acknowledgement. However, now that it stood here before him, he couldn't help but feel odd and out of place.  
  
  
  
These were people who had accepted him for what he was; a human cursed with the fate of the fox demon, yet instead of hatred or fear, they simply accepted him as one of their own. It was here that he found other like him and gain acceptance. With that acceptance, however, it became odd receiving such great respect from people he considered comrades, and in the end, he was divided between the happiness of acceptance and the wish that they would stop doing that so that he would feel less a fool.  
  
  
  
Looking at the warriors that stood before him, Naruto found that he could effortlessly pick out those that had a fox demon within them as they emanated enough spiritual strength for their own squad. They stood proudly by their comrades, smiles bright or grim as they waited for their respected leader to speak.  
  
  
  
The clan of the Nine Tailed Fox Demons was an odd clan that was centered on those with the burdening curse of a demon fox trapped within them. It was here that those people could learn how to live with their curse and when they found acceptance it became almost an obsession for many to protect those that have accepted them, training themselves so that they could harness the strength of the demon within them and making themselves stronger.  
  
  
  
"Naruto-sama. We have already been informed of the general layout of the eastern grounds. Our information indicates that there in only one Demon Lord inside… we are prepared, we await your signal," a captain informed as he unfolded a map, showing were the Demon Lord of the Shadowed Sun resided. With a nod, Naruto glanced before him at the far walls. Then looking at those who stood before him, numbering almost half of the first division, Naruto gave a slow nod at the door.  
  
  
  
"We head to the gate." He stated solemnly as he made a signal for his small army to begin to move forward.  
  
  
  
The iron doors seemed to rush upon them as they charged forward. Small metal weapons were thrown between the two forces as the soldiers quickly came to a halt, dodging thrown weapons while returning them in kind.  
  
  
  
The defenders lined the high walls the stretched to either side of the massive gates and a few dozen short lived soldiers also once protected the ground before the steel entrance, but were quickly disposed of.  
  
  
  
Looking up at the defenders, simple humans mixed in with devils here and there, they stood defiantly as they continued to rain down their weapons, their efforts futile as they had yet to injure a single invader. Naruto slowly gave a sly grin as he raised his hand and preformed a string seals, then announced his technique, "Kage Bunshin no Justsu!"  
  
  
  
Dozens upon dozens of shadow clones multiplied themselves from him and quickly leapt up into the air, each clone then unsheathed their shurikens from hidden pockets at the back of the waist and began raining down death onto the defenders that sat upon the high walls.  
  
  
  
Standing before the iron gates, Naruto absentmindedly looked behind himself as he watched his unscathed comrades pick off the soldiers on the high walls as his clones continued to harass the living.  
  
  
  
Holding his right fist before his chest knuckles pointed outwards, Naruto began to form the energy of his spirit, allowing it to flow into his arms as he began to lightly concentrate. With a few spare moments he continued to draw in power, preparing himself for a massive strike.  
  
  
  
Looking up, he saw his clones continue to fight. Already more then half were dead, but that was to be expected as he had given them so little spiritual power to begin with. However the surviving clones, having already exhausted their shuriken supply, were now in hand to hand, slaying the remaining survivors of the first assault on the walls directly above the gate.   
  
  
  
Seeing how the majority of the defenders were outright slaughtered with his inferior powered clones, Naruto couldn't help but once again wonder how strong he had gotten since those days of his youth.  
  
  
  
Behind him stood the mass of the first division, waiting patiently for their signal to move in and begin their attack. Knowing whom the young man before them was, the younger brother of the legendary legend, Silver, they expected a big signal for them and their enemies.  
  
  
  
Finally charging up enough energy, Naruto let out a feral grin as he drew back his fist to his side and with the cry of, "Majin Rekkou Satsu!" Naruto forced his fists through the iron gates as he released his pent up strength, sending the two slabs of iron back, the metal doors screeching against itself as it became bent and misshapen before landing in an open space, revealing shocked troops that were standing at the ready for them. He always liked dramatic entrances.  
  
  
  
As the iron doors screeched to a halt, the twenty-two squads of the first division of the Nine Tails clan smiled at the rather eccentric signal and instantly invaded, drawing out their weapons as they opened a bloody path for their leader to pass through.  
  
  
  
The sounds of metal against metal and the screams of short lived agony suddenly filled the air as the elite troops began to plow through the small army of guards that awaited them. It was no challenge as they were no more then common cannon fodder, souls used to simply win through sheer numbers.   
  
  
  
If the invading squads were less then those of the first ranks, they would have eventually fallen to the mass of people waiting for them. Unfortunately for the defenders, those who were invading were not simple soldiers and they effortlessly slashed through the ranks, killing everything within distance.  
  
  
  
It took a several minutes before the area was cleared. The area of the outer quarter was almost completely devoid of anything but space. Before them stood the grand castle, its many towers jetting into the sky above them, stretching away from them. A single large metal gate formed the single entrance on the west side.  
  
  
  
Looking around, Naruto knew that there were no survivors from the defending soldiers of the Shadowed Sun. The guards had simply fought to the death, gaining his respect as he acknowledged them as fine warriors, those who were sacrificing their lives in the defense of their home.  
  
  
  
Walking forward towards the castle's eastern gate, Naruto made sure as not to step on any of the dead bodies out of respect. Even against the obviously superior force, the guards had thrown themselves against the enemy. To him, there were fewer forms of strength of a clan and its warriors then those who were would stand their ground against the might of those who were obviously more powerful then they were.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Walking through the eastern metal gates of the castle, Naruto was surprised to find that they were unguarded and unlocked. Looking around he found himself staring into a long narrow corridor that only allowed a few men to walk abreast. Feeling only a vague sense of soul before him, Naruto calmly rushed forward to meet his adversary, confident in his skills to keep him alive if any traps or ambushes appeared in their path.  
  
  
  
Darkness trailed them as they steadily continued through the dark corridor. The only sounds were the whispers of their feet as they left the ground, pushing their bodies forward through the darkness. Then, suddenly, the corridor ended as light radiated before them. Confidently walking into the light, Naruto slowed to a stop as he studied what lay before him.  
  
  
  
Before them, stretching high into the ceiling and running into the distance stood a giant antechamber. Long, large royal carpentry stretched from their feet to a raised pedestal were a great throne sat. Pillars of white stone lined up beside the red carpet, working their way to the end, supporting the massive ceiling that floated above. Hundreds of candles were fixated to the stone pillars, casting a bright glow across the room and revealing a shrouded figure sitting on the throne.   
  
  
  
Looking at the far walls, Naruto frowned slightly at the lack of greeting they had received. Finally done looking around, he had realized that there were only two other doors in the area. Though he couldn't see behind the giant throne and the one who sat on it, he suspected that the two doors directly to his far left and right were the only other entrances.  
  
  
  
"GREETINGS!" a grand voice boomed across the room. "YOU SEEMED TO HAVE MADE IT THIS FAR." The voice continued to speak, sounding as though great slabs of rocks were grating against one another.  
  
  
  
"You know of our purpose?" Naruto replied aloud at the figure that sat on the throne.  
  
  
  
"HEH, HEH, HEH. I KNOW WELL OF WHO YOU ARE, AND OF YOUR PURPOSE HERE. OH GRAND WARRIORS OF THE CLAN OF THE NINE TAILS. HOWEVER, YOUR JOURNY SHALL END HERE AND NOW..." The figure stated as it stood up as it opened its eyes, revealing glowing red eyes that were enhanced by the dim darkness around the throne.  
  
  
  
Instantaneously, everyone put up his or her guard as the figure began to emanate an incredibly awesome power as it slowly moved forward.  
  
  
  
"SHALL WE FIGHT ONE ON ONE? OR SHALL YOU ALL FIGHT ME AT ONCE…" the figure asked as it moved into clear view, showing a man made of what looked like pure, light gray rock. Clothed lightly in simple cloth of a light brown color, the man was huge, standing effortlessly at two and a half meters tall.  
  
  
  
"General Granite Bars." Naruto stated allowed with a respectful bow. He was a known warrior who had the might to tear even full-fledged, demon imbued warriors apart with his raw strength.  
  
  
  
With a feral grin, the rock man looked down at them as he came to a stop a dozen meters away. With a massive muscular chest and thick arms, the man clenched and unclenched his huge fists in anticipation. Garbed in only baggy pants and loose, sleeveless shirt, he emanated power as they all saw his stone flesh.  
  
  
  
"WHO WILL BE FIRST?" the man asked as he pounded his right fist into his open left palm, creating a small filament of dust as he ground some of his skin to dust.  
  
  
  
With a simple nod at each entrance, the warriors of the first division divided in half and promptly left, as the giant man of rock watched and prepared to follow.  
  
  
  
"I shall be your opponent." Naruto stated openly, stopping the giant man who turned down and let out a chuckle. "I am known as Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."  
  
  
  
The chuckling promptly ceased as the glowing red eyes fixated themselves on the young man before him. "RED HOWLING…" the man said as the name rolled off his stone tongue, instantly recognizing the name and the young man's warrior's name.  
  
  
  
"Iron General." Naruto replied in kind, showing of his respect of one who had also achieved a warrior's name in the endless fields of battle.  
  
  
  
They had met once, long ago and had sparred. Though Naruto himself was young then, when he had no warrior's name. He had greatly amused the Iron General and with the promise of a stronger future, Naruto had been left alive with the sting of an absolute yet humble defeat.  
  
  
  
"HA, HA, HA, HA! TO THINK THAT I ONCE AGAIN GET A CHANCE TO FIGHT SILVER'S BELOVED BROTHER!" the general laughed out loud as he raised his hands and clenched them into a fist, the feeling of rushing energy and anticipation flowing through his body. "COME, LET ME TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!"  
  
  
  
Raising his own fists in reply, Naruto tightened his fists as he leapt forward, gliding under the general's defense with a slide and then reversing his slide into a reverse spinning roundhouse kick as he slid behind the general, aiming at his defenseless waistline.  
  
  
  
With a meager grunt, the general's body swayed to the left slightly as he gave a small smile. "MY TURN…" the general said as he turned and stomped the ground, crushing the stone underneath while Naruto leapt off to the right side.  
  
  
  
Landing for an instant, Naruto once again leapt to the right, landing behind the general once again as he planted his left foot onto the ground as he raised his right leg slightly and unleashed his strongest standing kick as he put all his weight into his rotating thighs.  
  
  
  
With a slam, pain lanced through Naruto's leg as he chipped of small bits of rock from the man's waist, dropping from under his shirt and onto the stone floor below.  
  
  
  
Turning around quickly with the sound of grating stones, the general slapped his to hands together, forming a strong wind with his mighty attack that forced Naruto to leap into the air, lest the massive hands crush him.  
  
  
  
However, just as quickly as he had smashed his hands together, he as quickly separated them, pushing away the last vestiges of wind and air, creating a small vacuum that was ever so quickly began to draw Naruto downwards.  
  
  
  
Reacting out of pure instinct, Naruto gathered soul into his body as he deftly landed, and was barely able to react as the general drew back his fists and with the announcing cry of, "MAJIN REKKOU SASTSU!" he punched Naruto aiming at his chest.   
  
  
  
Pain exploded in Naruto's right shoulder as he barely dodged the attack, which sent him flying backwards, his entire right shoulder crushed to nothing. Extending his good left arm, he tried to stop his flight forcefully as he flew towards the closest pillar. Unfortunately as he pushed down his left arm, he felt his arm strained and it twisted to its limit before it snapped painfully.  
  
  
  
Rolling for a few meters, Naruto felt other bones crack, pop and snap as the back of his body forcefully slammed into the large stone pillar, his body warping into a arc around its base. Shock raced through his mind as he registered what technique his opponent had just used. The Majin Rekkou Satsu. A technique that he had used only scant minutes ago.  
  
  
  
Groaning slightly, Naruto was shaken from the raw power that the stone man's Majin Rekkou Satsu held. Though it was now obvious that they both knew the same fight style of Soul Fist, Naruto felt fear as the general simply had more raw power behind his attacks.  
  
  
  
Painfully getting to his feet as he stood on his one good left leg, his right was basically destroyed from the single attack and the extra damage from rolling into the pillar.  
  
  
  
"IS THAT ALL, RED HOWLING? WHAT WOULD YOUR GREAT BROTHER, SILVER-SAMA, SAY IF HE SAW YOU NOW?" the stone man taunted, but held the name of Silver in high regard. They had tangled once, with himself, the Iron General defeated. He was awed as that was the second person to have ever defeated him in single combat. The first being his master, the Golden General.  
  
  
  
Heh, I take a small nap and find you getting your ass kicked. Damned brat… a growling voice proclaimed from deep within Naruto's mind.  
  
  
  
"Stupid fox, always taking naps at the worst times…" Naruto whispered to himself as he gruelingly took a step forward.  
  
  
  
Bah, damned Brat, always helpless without me. The voice proclaimed as he saw through Naruto's eyes. The Iron General again eh? The voice stated angrily as the energy of red soul began to collect around Naruto's battered body. Lets show him who is king this time! Naruto!   
  
  
  
The general was forced to frown slightly as he saw the young man before him begin to exert a large aura of soul, with streams of energy spiraling about him. Unlike the usual amounts of strength that the boy had displayed before, the new form of energy was a deep blood red that spiraled around. Naruto closed his eyes as he felt the rush of energy flowing through his veins and soul, healing his body as he tilted his head upwards while arching his body backwards.   
  
  
  
Then with a forceful howl as the streams of red spiraling energy reached their peak, the stone floor around them cracked, sending out chips of sharp stone that flew in all directions, sending a few chips to embed themselves in the general's rock skin.  
  
  
  
"HAH! SO YOU SHOW YOUR TRUE SELF AT LAST, RED HOWLING!" the general stated with cool joy. He would get a good fight today.  
  
  
  
The spiraling energy calmed down to nothingness, the red streams of pure soul disappearing as the young man opened his lowered his head, revealing dark red eyes with his black pupils becoming vertical slits.  
  
  
  
"GOOD! COME RED HOWLING! SHOW ME YOUR TRUE STRENGTH! THE STRENGTH THAT EARNED YOU A WARRIOR'S NAME!" The general screamed as he readied himself for a stronger assault.  
  
  
  
"Here I come…" Naruto said simply as he took a step forward and suddenly vanished.  
  
  
  
Concentrating, the general felt the movements of his foe by tracking the immense power that his opponent gave off. If he compared himself and Naruto's he would have said that they were almost even. Almost.  
  
  
  
Then with a stated attack, Naruto appeared in the air as he dove downward, his right leg extended out. The energy of his attack was vibrant as he shot downwards, his attack name ringing in the still air.  
  
  
  
"Sword!!!"  
  
  
  
Raising his left arm to block Naruto's 'Sword' attack, the general gritted his teeth as he felt his arm beginning to crumble from the single blow. Throwing his left arm outwards, forcing Naruto back into the air who landed softly a few meters away.  
  
  
  
Looking down at his left arm, Granite Bars gritted his teeth as he saw that more then half of his left forearm was demolished into nothingness. His arm was more then a hundred centimeters thick yet half of it was effortlessly ground to dust.  
  
  
  
Grin turning into a snarling smile, the general let loose a grand laugh that echoed throughout the room. "I AM IMPRESSED RED HOWLING. YOUR FIGHTING STYLE, SHADOW SKILL IS IMPRESSIVE AND YOU HAVE SHOWN ME YOUR TRUE FORM, NOW LET ME SHOW YOU MINE!!!"  
  
  
  
Clenching his fists, he drew his elbows to his side as he let out a deep-throated growl. The ground around him then vanished, forming a good 4 meters crater around were he stood, creating a donut like bowl with a cloud of thick dust hanging in the air, around the general himself.  
  
  
  
Then the dust began to float into the general. Slowly at first, it quickly picked up speed until the air was once again clean, leaving a new dark gray skinned general of stone.  
  
  
  
"THIS IS MY BODY OF IRON. COME RED HOWLING, LET US DANCE THE DANCE OF DEATH!" the general proclaimed as he rushed forward, his fist smashing the area of were Naruto once stood.  
  
  
  
Weary of the suddenly quicker and undoubtedly stronger General Granite Bars, Naruto felt the tingle of excitement run down his spine.  
  
  
  
Fun, Fun! The voice of the fox demon echoed in his head.  
  
  
  
With a mad dash, Naruto quickly unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, lashing out against the giant as he circled the iron man.  
  
  
  
Without even blocking, the general stood as he took the attacks, not even twitching as he body swayed slightly from side to side under the torrent of blows. Then as if growing bored, he effortlessly snatched Naruto's left leg and swinging him around, he threw the surprised body into same pillar, forming a denting crater on the once smooth surface.  
  
  
  
Falling onto his feet, Naruto felt the spirit of his fox demon begin its healing with a muffled Ouch . Knowing now that his simple attacks were useless, Naruto turned to plan B.  
  
  
  
Placing his right fist before him, Naruto began to draw on as much strength of soul as possible, using his own and his demon fox's to his body's limit. He then began to charge his body with energy, giving himself greater speed and power as he began to claw at his limits.  
  
  
  
Seeing what Naruto was doing, the general responded in kind, know full well on what was going to happen. Raising his own right fist, he too began to draw on his own energy of soul, flowing it into his own body and encasing his flesh with power.  
  
  
  
Reaching their limits, the general grunted in respect as he guessed that Naruto's limits in the art of Soul Fist were above those of even his own, great as they were.  
  
  
  
Clenching and unclenching his right, gloved fist, Naruto then sprang forward as the general did the same, their voice intertwining as they proclaimed the same attack.  
  
  
  
"JIGOKU HA ZAN GEKI!"  
  
  
  
Their right fists slammed into one another, separated by a bare centimeter as their energy of soul clashed. Then as they both pushed forwards, their fists touched, creating an explosion of power as the air around them reached their limits, forcing the two combatants back.  
  
  
  
The air around them was fogged with dust. With neither fighter able to see one another, it gave them a few simple moments to reflect on the outcome of their single attack.  
  
  
  
Flexing his broken right hand, Naruto let loose a grin as pain lanced through his arm. He felt the recoil but he doubted that his opponent came out unscathed as well. Already the soul energy of his fox demon's spirit began its work of regeneration, mending broken bones and torn flesh.  
  
  
  
Then the dust began to settle, giving Naruto a good look at his opponent.  
  
  
  
On the other side, the general was grinning broadly. His right hand was demolished to nothingness, leaving only a jagged stump behind. However, the wound began to shake slightly as though like water, rock flowed forth and began to form itself back into a hand. Flexing newly regenerated fingers, the general's grin turned into a smile as he looked up.  
  
  
  
With a frown, Naruto tensed his body momentarily as he readied himself and in one smooth motion he burst forward and threw a straight right punch at the general's stomach area.  
  
  
  
Bone cracked and crunched as flesh met solid metal.  
  
  
  
With a small cry of pain Naruto pulled back his fists as he tried to leap to the left. The general on the other hand, simply pulled back his left fist as Naruto finished his small leap and with alarming speed, he threw his own straight punch, catching Naruto squarely in the chest. There was a small distortion in the air as the fist impacted, sending the smaller body flying back a few dozen meters.  
  
  
  
With a groan, Naruto got to his feet. Breathing hard, he felt the strain from blocking the general's simple punch as he lightly trailed a finger from were the massive fist had impacted on him.  
  
  
  
Staring at the steady young man before him, the general let loose a small frown, as he wondered what exactly didn't happen. He had caught his opponent by surprise meaning that there should have at least been broken bones or such. But judging by how his opponent stood and acted, injury seemed to be the last thing that affected him.  
  
  
  
On the one hand the young man could have been faking his rather good health or more likely the attack had a much lesser impact then the general himself first believed. He had used the same direct punch on many other souls that had stood against him and through such battles he knew the injuries that a mortal body could sustain.  
  
  
  
From the moment that the straight punch connected, the raw power behind such a blow should have caved the rib cage inward, slashing at lung, heart and stomach, severely impeding the person from almost any action.  
  
  
  
As Naruto stood before him however, the general saw no such signs of injuries and he also highly doubted that the young man had become so synched with his fox demon that injuries could have miraculously healed upon damage.  
  
  
  
No, that couldn't be it.  
  
  
  
Narrowing his eyes slightly, the general thought back to when he had thrown his punch as something about it nagged at his mind. He remembered the punch connecting and then there was a slight disturbance in the air as his fist hit and threw back the body…   
  
  
  
Eyes wide, the general instantly recognized the tell tale sign of a specific technique. The Will of Soul. Replaying the disturbance as fist hit flesh, the general was suddenly sure beyond a shadow of a doubt why the man was still able to effortlessly stand.  
  
  
  
It was the Will of Soul, or Will of whatever form of common energy of the body was known as. It was the simple technique that used such energy to form a protective shell around the person. When using the shell, the person then could proceed to deflect almost any attack, let it be elemental attacks, spiritual energy attacks or even mundane attacks such as fists. It was an almost invulnerable technique that allowed nothing through.  
  
  
  
However, as such a high and mighty technique, it had a catch. It used up energy, lots of energy. So much as a matter of fact that even though it was simple to perform, it required a huge amount of energy to block anything more then a small pebble or two that were thrown at high speeds. Making it impractical for most to use as the majority could only form a small, thin shell that only protected a small portion of their body.  
  
  
  
Only people with excessive amounts of energy could ever use the technique effectively. Those who were imbued with the demonic nine tailed fox demons and had learnt how to use the powerful and plentiful soul energy had trouble making such a technique practical as though many could use it to defend while training and standing still, using such a defensive shell in battle was entirely different as it drained far to much energy and took much too much concentration to use.  
  
  
  
But, for those that had mastered the Will of Soul, they instantly became a foe to fear as no attacks could penetrate, making it extremely hard as almost any attack was futile and left the attacker open to almost any attack. Thankfully there was almost no one who could use the technique effectively.   
  
  
  
Thinking about known masters, the general's eyes narrowed as he remembered the only known master of the Will of Soul.   
  
  
  
Silver, legendary legend of the Nine Tails.  
  
  
  
Thinking back to the only encounter that he himself had fought the impossibly strong warrior. Every attack he preformed was block or deflected before Silver grew weary and in a single blow, brought his iron body to its knees.  
  
  
  
"IT SEEMS THAT YOU FOLLOW YOUR BROTHER'S FOOTSTEPS. MASTERING THE WILL OF SOUL IS NO SMALL FEAT." The general commented as he clenched his fists tightly before him and charged forward, delivering a massive punch aimed at the chest area.  
  
  
  
Thinking quickly, Naruto gritted his teeth as he went through his options. Throwing most of them out the window, he clenched his jaw shut as he raised his arms before him, crossing them behind one another as he took the force of the general's attack head on. Stone chipped, cracked and shattered under his feet as he was forced back a good meter.   
  
  
  
Breathing hard as he had just spent a great deal of energy to block the attack, Naruto came to the single conclusion that he could only win in one of two ways. The general had a body of iron, making him incredibly hard to injure, proven by his now healed, broken bones and with the man's ability to regenerate severe wounds like missing hands and what not, it mean that he would have to use a single overwhelmingly powered attack to destroy more then what the general could regenerate.  
  
  
  
Gathering energy into himself, Naruto bared his teeth as he once again reached his limits before he allowed his energy to flow through his entire body, flowing into his limbs and muscles. Then as he felt that he was prepared, he ran towards the general, disappearing before the general's eyes as he ran ahead at full speed.  
  
  
  
The general's eyes widened slightly as Naruto vanished from sight, but didn't allow it to bother him, as his opponent had not vanished from all of the senses.  
  
  
  
Timing his attack, the general let loose a punch as Naruto was about to let loose a punch of his own. With a fist to the face, Naruto was revealed as he was thrown back a few meters. Instantly recovering Naruto got up and attacked again.  
  
  
  
Sensing on how the young man moved, the general allowed himself to get struck at the back as he simultaneously elbowed the man behind him. Reeling from a timed blow, Naruto stumbled back before he caught himself and attack again, and again, and again, each time meeting with a same fate.  
  
  
  
Hopping onto his feet from the last counter attack, Naruto wiped a smear of blood from his lips as the general's attacks were beginning to get through. It was a sure sign that he was weakening.  
  
  
  
The general look fine and was simply standing there, doing nothing as Naruto recovered. Looking down at his own bloody hands, the Will of Soul only able to block so much before it began to buckle. Considering that defending the rest of his body more important, Naruto had stopped protecting his hands after the second and third blow. The energy of the nine tails was currently fixing up his broken fists but even the nine tails had its limits, high as they were.  
  
  
  
That stupid pebble is stronger then he looks. Your attacks aren't even affecting him. All your doing is breaking your own bones from each attack. Stop wasting time and lets go! The fox demanded, as it knew that there was only one option left.  
  
  
  
"Alright, alright. General, let us end this here and now!" Naruto exclaimed as he tightened every muscle in his body in preparation for what he was going to do next. The general simply raised a stone eyebrow in response and waited.  
  
  
  
Clenching his jaw, Naruto tensed his body as he began to turn his thoughts inwards, clearing his mind as he formed an image in his mind.  
  
  
  
It was lines that had a clear-cut outline that swirled into itself. It was a symbol of a previous life that he once lived. It was the symbol that he held dear to himself as it represented those who he held dearest to his heart.  
  
  
  
At the center of his mind, the symbol of the Leaf represented himself and with that he began to concentrate, forming the energy of soul that he focus around and into the symbol himself. What began as only light ribbons of energy soon became a absolute stream of pure power that coiled itself around the leaf symbol, wrapping itself around the lines that defined the symbol's figure.  
  
  
  
General Granite Bars took a cautious step backwards as he saw the young man before him began to draw on incredible amounts of energy that began to wrap around the body. Tightly formed streams of red energy that swirled around and into the body broke the stone underneath from the sheer power being exerted. The muscles themselves seemed to bulge slightly as they became hyper defined. Then as the power settled, creating a gentle breeze that rippled from the young man as he finished, Naruto opened his eyes.  
  
  
  
Light seemed to fade as he look forward his black slitted pupils seemed to be drawing in light, making the red eyes seem more viscous and deadly as he focused on his opponent.   
  
  
  
Raising his fists before him, Naruto released a calm breath as he stared into his opponent's eyes. His stance was now loose, unlike the braced form he was utilizing before as this style of fighting was unforgiving and a loose stance meant greater speed and strength.  
  
  
  
Tightening his fists, the general felt his stone skins begin to crack from his raw strength as he readied himself for what he knew was going to come. He had seen this style before, the ultimate martial arts style, that which exceeds all boundaries, Kamui.  
  
  
  
His knowledge of this style was flawless as the entire style itself was based on a single emphasis, speed. It was overwhelming speed that flowed into unstoppable strength that could not be rivaled. The absolute style that had no equal as it unsurpassed speed kept the user in constant high-speed motion.  
  
  
  
However, this style placed incredible strain on the entire body. At least seven times that for the simplest of motions, making it a doubled-edged style that crushed the opponent as the user destroyed themselves.  
  
  
  
Naruto slumped into his stance as he placed his right foot before his left, raising his fists accordingly before he relaxed, allowing his fists to open. Opening his hands in a gentle fashion, as though he was holding a delicate fan in his hands, Naruto directed his open hand towards the general, his gesture showing that he was ready.  
  
  
  
Standing still, the general waited knowing full well that if he let his guard down for even a moment, the battle could end in an instant.  
  
  
  
Raising his left foot so that he balanced it on his toes, Naruto ran forward and hopped into the air, his left hip behind him as he turned to his right, ramming his left knee forward, towards the general's broad chest.  
  
  
  
Coughing up blood, the general saw Naruto move right before he was forced backwards into the air, the deafening sound of something slamming into rock echoing throughout the chamber.  
  
  
  
Getting to his feet, the general frowned as he saw his opponent standing a good two meters away, with his right hand raised towards him in a curious openhanded gesture.  
  
  
  
Looking down, the general clenched his teeth as he examined the many cracks and miniature creator in his chest. With a thought, the cracks were already healing as he raised his head to grin. Raising his fists, the general didn't have time to blink before the young man before him vanished once again. Stretching out his senses, the general panicked ever so slightly as he found he couldn't study his foe at all.  
  
  
  
He felt Naruto's soul move in a circle around him, but what he felt and saw were different. As the sense of soul moved, a trail of cracking stone followed a few scant seconds later. Then in a giant attack, the general felt his left arm blown clean off as his foe materialized midair, then disappearing again. Thus began a harrowing storm of light blows that cracked and destroyed the iron defense that the general had prided himself on.  
  
  
  
Naruto seemed to only materialize right before and lingered a second behind every attack. It was a hail of kick and knees as Naruto aimed his attacks at more vulnerable and vital spots.  
  
  
  
"YOUR ATTACK WAS QUICK AND STRONG, HOWEVER, HOW LONG CAN YOU KEEP UP THAT SPEED? DOES IT NOT STRAIN YOUR BODY AND DRAIN YOUR SOUL? IT IS SAID THAT POWER WITHOUT SPEED IS USELESS, HOWEVER, SPEED WITHOUT STAMINA IS EQUALLY SO. SHOULD YOU TIRE OUT BEFORE I DO, IT IS OVER. THIS IS A TEST OF OUR ENDURANCE, COME RED HOWLING!" the general screamed aloud as he once again began to summon on the earth around him, calling it to heal his wounds and injuries.  
  
  
  
Stopping a dozen meters away from the general, Naruto paused as he felt the pain in his body freeze him for a scant few moments. Pain arced and laced through his body as he allowed himself to recover.  
  
  
  
Lets finish this. Use that final attack… the fox stated as it tried its best to heal the injuries that the style, Kamui, brought on.  
  
  
  
Nodding once, Naruto felt memories of the single mentioned technique surface. It was a technique only passed by word of mouth and it belonged to the martial arts style of Shadow Skill. The final attack technique, Kanon. He had learnt it from… a friend… someone who had also given him his precious glove.  
  
  
  
"It ends here, General." Naruto stated calmly as he raised his fists before him, centering them at shoulder height.  
  
  
  
"COME!!" the general replied aloud, his body braced for any possible attack.  
  
  
  
Stone chipped and cracked as Naruto forced his body forward, time slowing down as he dashed towards his opponent and leapt into the air, releasing his style of Kamui as he reached the peak of his jump.  
  
  
  
The general's eyes widened as the young man materialized above him and began to fall down. Seeing what his opponent was about to do, he raised his arms in preparation for what he guessed, Naruto's strongest attack.  
  
  
  
Twisting in the air, Naruto made a single turn as lashed out his right leg, the words, "KANON!" springing from his mouth as his foot slammed into the general's raised arms.  
  
  
  
Iron crumbled as from the foot stemmed a diamond shaped attack of pure energy, drilling into his opponent, passing the general's raised guards and striking directly at the body.  
  
  
  
The energy collected and as it reached its peek, a eruption formed, blanketing all senses with nothing but overwhelming power.  
  
  
  
The explosion rocked the eastern half the castle, jarring the walls and startling those within range.  
  
  
  
Dust settled, allowing the standing Naruto to gaze at what was left of his opponent.  
  
  
  
Below him laid the remains of the General Granite Bars who was left with a severed left arm that lay a few dozen centimeters away from the main torso. Only the head and right arm remained intact on the body, the lower half vaporized in the single strike. A pool of light gray blood collected around the cracked and ruined body, leaking from the general's hard lips.  
  
  
  
"AHAHA… AHA… HA…" the general laughed in spurts of coughs, his voice still strong. "YOU HAVE DIScoVERED THE WEAKness OF THE iron BODY OF mINe. SPEed withOUt sTAMINa IS USELEss. BUT SPEED AND stamINA IS poWER…" the general exclaimed as his voice began to weaken.  
  
  
  
Naruto watched impassively as he gave a nod to the man's last words. Watching at the collecting pool of light gray blood, he wondered why he didn't see any when he had previously destroyed the man's arms before…  
  
  
  
"UZUMAKI NARUTO… No… RED HOWLING!!!" the general yelled out as he raised his one right arm in a gesture of respect. Reaching up, he clasped his opponent with a strong hand and a feral grin. "YOU wErE A GRAnD WARRIOR! BECOME STRONG… sTRonGer Then Me and SILVER-sama… YOU ARE STORNG! Be proud of your skills…" the general gasped out as he fell into another fit of coughing.  
  
  
  
"YOU ARE… THIRD to DEFEAT me… Long live the FiGHT! SHALL we meet IN THE fight agaIn soMEdaY my FrienD!" the general exclaimed as his right hand shook slightly, before becoming lax and Naruto watched calmly as the general's body turned into dust, leaving behind only a silhouette of the once proud warrior.   
  
  
  
A tear escaped his right eye, a tear that was simply wiped away.  
  
  
  
Naruto bowed to his opponent, as he knew that the man was full of honor. He was a grand fighter and deserved respect.  
  
  
  
Looking around briefly, Naruto hoped that he would remember this fight as he carried the wishes of his defeated foe. There was a wish and burden here, for him to become the strongest warrior in the grand ten thousand year history of the Nine Tails clan.  
  
  
  
Quickly running to the stairs, Naruto simply chose the closest one, as he knew that they would meet up at the top. From the top he could signal his victory.  
  
  
  
Bodies littered the floor as the aftermath of his squads fought their way to the upper levels of the castle. Their duties were to simply clear the way for Naruto himself to fight the Lords of the Shadowed Sun.  
  
  
  
After a few more stairs, Naruto came to the top. The skies stretched out before him as he looked around himself. His squads littered the top of one of many of the castle's towers. The city itself expanded before him, the plumes of smoke spreading from the many fires that lit the city in a glow of red and orange.  
  
  
  
At the center of the roof stood a giant pole that held the crest of the Shadowed Suns. Behind him stood the city and the expansive castle bellowed before him. Before him stood three other identical towers and they seemed to align into a cross, the center boasting a even greater tower that dwarfed its lesser brethrens.  
  
  
  
Turning around, Naruto found himself staring at the city it seemed as though the majority of the fighting had finally stopped. Raising his heads, Naruto looked at the castle, seeing three other towers like his as he walked to the pole and with a flourish raised the flag of the clan of the Nine Tails.  
  
  
  
Looking at the other three towers, Naruto smiled as he saw the Nine Tails flag raised high upon their poles as well.  
  
  
  
Looking to the center tower, no flag waved which meant that the final battle was still being waged there. Though he had wanted to fight, he knew that he wasn't ready for that yet. The ruler of the clan of the Shadowed Sun was a demonic being that was considered the closest to god itself. No one had yet to defeat him, making him legendary figure.  
  
  
  
However, the clan of the Nine Tails had the legendary legend, Silver, who in his own right was also considered a being close to god and as such, it was Silver who was elected to go battle the leader of the Shadowed Sun.  
  
  
  
Sitting down, Naruto guessed that it was to be a long match and since he had time sot spare, he would use it to recover from the usage of Kamui. Relaxing against the pole, Naruto closed his eyes as he allowed himself to take a nap.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The castle rumbled violently, forcing Naruto to open his eyes as he immediately felt his older brother's nine tailed fox demon power up. Eyes wide, he stared at the center tower as he felt an ungodly amount of power being drawn to a center point.  
  
  
  
Taking a deep breath, Naruto heard the breathing of his comrades, their expression similar as they waited for the outcome of the battle as a second power rose up, rivaling the strength of their greatest warrior.  
  
  
  
Everything seemed still and frozen as the two immense sources of strength began to move towards each other. There was clash and the surrounding walls of the tower exploded, forcing debris in all direction as two figures were revealed.  
  
  
  
The first was a massive gold creature with giant leather wings. Horn sprouted from what looked like a gazing skull with glowing red eyes of pure power. A tanned hide held numerous wounds that bled purple blood. A single wing was torn to shreds, hanging limply as its twin stood erect. The thing's right arm was lacerated, spilling blood with every movement. Raising its good left arm, it began to draw in energy as it prepared itself for a massive attack.  
  
  
  
Beside it, stood a man dressed in tattered rags, his body marked in wounds that were freshly healed, the transparent image of a graceful looking demon fox hovered around the man's body. His left arm was torn and misshapen as he flicked up his head defiantly, jolting up silver hair as he gazed into his opponent's eyes as he raised his right arm and began to draw in strength.  
  
  
  
All seemed deathly quiet as they both reached their limits.  
  
  
  
Then as a single piece of stone crumbled and hit the scarred floor, they moved. Their arms outstretched, they simply rammed their fists together. Their final attack was nothing more then the struggle of raw power.  
  
  
  
Light shone from the contending fists as the air around them almost instantly reached its limit and exploded in a blinding flare of pure energy, releasing a shockwave of untold power.  
  
  
  
A shockwave emanated from the central tower, cover all ground instantly and stretched into the horizon, destroying the terrain and killing those weak and unprepared.  
  
  
  
Naruto raised his arms protectively before his face as the shockwave took him into its fold. The energy burnt as it touched his skin, forcing him to close his eyes to attempt to block out the light and withstand the pain.  
  
  
  
The burning sensation grew and Naruto clenched his teeth together as he felt the burning sensation touch his soul and the excess energy seemed to pool into something.  
  
  
  
With a final scream of pain, Naruto felt himself surrounded by white light and felt as though he was being pulled apart cell by cell into the something.  
  
  
  
Then as quickly as the shockwave came, it left, leaving destruction in its wake. The survivors quickly searched around and helped their injured comrades. Though most survived, there was no sign of many of their greatest heroes, their spirits, vanished without a trace.  
  
  
  
However, they were told of this outcome and quickly left the ravaged city, returning to their homes in victory as they left the shattered and once proud empire of the Shadows Sun.  
  
  
  
A gentle wind blew through the remains of a ruined city. The streets were littered with the dead as the few survivors inspected what was left of their glorious empire. As they searched through the city, they found barely a few dozen survivors.  
  
  
  
Within the castle was only ruin as only pockets of defenders had survived the onslaught. The bodies and remains of their generals were left unsullied within their respected throne rooms.  
  
  
  
As they reached the final tower however, many screamed aloud as other cried and yet even more simply stared with an iron gaze at the body of their once invincible leader. His golden body torn to into almost nothing, his spirit was long since gone, leaving only a torn and dead husk.  
  
  
  
The survivors simply turned away and as a group left, their empire was gone but their will was far from shattered. Turning into the setting sun, they left, knowing that one day they would return and rebuild what they had lost. For now they were defeated, but one day, they would again arise, with a greater army and stronger revived lords.  
  
  
  
They were the warriors of the Shadowed Sun. They alone held the right to rule and though they were repelled this time, they would surely arise again, for was not it their destiny to decide who lived or died?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A masked Anbu stood watch over the young boy resting on the warm wooden floor. Covered in scripture and resting within a ward of dozens of seals, a young blond boy rested under a simple white covering. The room was kept at a constant warm temperature that was closely monitored so that it wouldn't vary by more then a few degrees.  
  
  
  
Looking up, the Anbu knew it was a full moon out and she wondered how long the fox demon was going to stay in his unchanging state. It was the order of the Fifth, the leader of the Leaf Village, the Hokage, that she herself would stand watch over him. If it wasn't a direct order, she wouldn't have been here, looking over a coma stricken fox demon that she felt no attachments to.  
  
  
  
She continued with her ponderings for a few more minutes as she turned to look at the door, wondering when her shift was over. Never noticing the subtle movements of her ward.  
  
  
  
The young boy twitched as the scriptures began to quickly fade and the seals vanished. Without a sound, the young blond boy sat up, his simple covering sliding silently to collect at his waist.  
  
  
  
Turning his head to look at the person standing with their back to him, the young boy simply got up as he realized he was undressed and wrapped the simple cover around his waist, shielding his modesty from plain view.  
  
  
  
The sound of fabric sliding against fabric instantly broke her train of thought as she whipped around to see her charge not only awake but was also standing and as of currently, studying her.  
  
  
  
Moving backwards to the door, she simply tapped her right knuckles against the door. It immediately opened, revealing the faces of two more masked people.  
  
  
  
The two new masks turned the young boys attention to them, and one of them gasped as quickly ran out the door, charging the silent corridor as the second Anbu raced towards the Fifth.  
  
  
  
The third and first Anbu stood in front of the door as they continued to watch the young boy who simply stared back.  
  
  
  
The first Anbu was at a loss for words. How had he silently awoken and climbed to his feet without a single sound? How could she have been so careless! Was it not her duty to watch over him!  
  
  
  
Swallowing once, she decided that those thoughts were irrelevant as currently standing before her was the young fox demon genin. All that mattered now was that Uzumaki Naruto had awoken from his ten-month coma.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
) ( " ) (")  
  
Author's Corner: Hey Hey! I finished my prologue! Heh heh.  
  
Well this is going to be an interesting piece as I basically wing the entire series and hope that it comes together properly with story, fighting and excitement! (Ok, ok. I'm doomed from the start =P)  
  
Umm, hmmmm… what to say? I decided to start this series for a while but didn't have the right incentive to. Then after watching like 20 hours of anime, I found my inspiration and decided to start this baby.  
  
Lets see, the current references are:  
  
- Soul / Soul Energy = Chackra (This soul stuff is temp, ill be reverting back to chackra soon, just wanted the difference for this location as you may or may not understand later on =P)  
  
- Soul Fist derives from the style called Ankokumatoujustsu which translate into something like reverse black magic technique or something like that =P and it is grabbed from the series called Devil + Devil.  
  
- Shadow Skill is from the anime Shadow Skill, so is the attack/style Kamui but that has been completely altered to fit my Fan Fic  
  
- Naruto as to my knowledge has not been put into a coma (which he should have considering what he's put himself through _ Go Naruto!!)  
  
- Who is the Fifth Hokage? Well read chapter one and find out, when it comes out a long, long time from now.  
  
- Do I have a life? The answer is still… no, pity me peoples.  
  
  
  
Well I think that about covers it, if you have any comments/criticisms or what not, please email me at Psionic_Soldier@hotmail.com.  
  
  
  
So far as I know this fanfic is only on FanFiction.net and just as a side note, when I checked the Naruto fanfics like half a year ago, there was like 5 chapters… now there's like a hell of a lot more… scary stuff…  
  
  
  
P.S. – sorry to those who are also fans of my Zelda fiction, Legend of Zelda: Rise of the Dark Hero, as I spent time doing this rather then Chapter 03… ummm I just wanted a small break away from Zelda stuff and get Naruto out of my system as I've been reading too much of the manga and such. I will GET that chapter out sometime… sometime… 


	2. Red Howling Chapter 01

Red Howling  
  
Naruto / Other Fusion  
  
By Perfect Psionic Soldier  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the various anime/manga thingies. The respective creators do. (I just pretend their mine ~_^)  
  
Before you read on please note that some of this story and or wordings may not make sense to you but please bear with it, as it will become clearer as the story progresses from chapter to chapter.  
  
If you have any questions that weren't answered however, then please send me an email, address given at the Author's Corner, and I will answer them to the best of my abilities.   
  
Note: This takes place after volume 20. Which means that I'm pretty darn far into the series and I hate it cause I can't get enough!!! So there are spoilers and the personality of the character Naruto is going to be changed as I more or less implement other anime stuff into this series! I like it! But that is just my opinion… Hope you Enjoy.  
  
Chapter 01  
  
Title: Chapter One  
  
He opened his eyes as he felt his body twitch ever so slightly.  
  
Looking up and around, he took in a silent breath, as though it was his ever first breath of life. The single act filled his body with air as blood flowed, empowering his body with some energy and vitality.  
  
With graceful silence, he carefully moved, his body seemingly tired and unresponsive as he slowly rose up to a sitting position, the light fabric covering him silently pooling at his waist.  
  
Continuing his steady breathing, he raked his hands through his hair, feeling it trail farther then what it should have been. The feelings of rough and smooth hair strands ran beneath and between his gliding fingers.  
  
Blinking, he quietly probed his hair, his fingers moving carefully as he trailed his hair downwards, finding that it fell below his neckline. It was definitely farther then what it should have been.  
  
But how far should it be… ugh… he questioned himself but as he tried to think, his head strained as his eyes widened. There was a moment's pause. He couldn't remember anything!  
  
Holding back a moment of panic, he instead concentrated on his steady breathing. It was simple, continues and silent intakes of air that fed his lungs while he instead looked up and around. Perhaps he would find something to remind him of who he was or were he was.  
  
  
  
Looking around the room, he found it bare; devoid of anything save a small table beside the far wall, holding the only source of light, a few low burning candles that shined within the small room. Looking down he realized that he was resting on nothing but the warm wooden floor.   
  
Sensing something, he looked up as he noticed another person in the room with him. Instinct taking over, he instantly cleared his mind of all questions and doubts as he carefully stood up, pulling the soft fabric with him as he unsteadily stood.  
  
Not wanting to stand up naked, he began to wrap and tie the fabric around his waist, making a makeshift skirt. He then simply stuffed the single corner of the skirt into itself, securing it so that it would stay put, unless he did something more then paced movements.  
  
With agile speed, the person who had their back to him suddenly whipped around and in an instant took in the fact that he was standing. The person instantly backed to the door, tapping it once with their right hand as he himself studied the masked person.  
  
  
  
Wearing a decorated white mask, the person standing before him was taller and had long hair elegant black hair. Dressed in a light brown flak jacket that had various pockets, the person also wore what looked like simple dark blue clothing underneath.  
  
  
  
The door instantly opened, revealing two more similar masked people. In a second, one of the masked ones disappeared and he found himself wondering if he heard the sounds of light steps padding against floor from behind the wall. The other masked person then stepped into the room, closing the door as the person entered.  
  
  
  
It was then as he studied the two people before him that he noticed they both carried swords on their back. The sheaths were strapped to their backs using red cords that hugged their light frames.  
  
  
  
Thinking quickly he knew that the first masked person was agile and responsive due to the person's reaction and the way they handled their body. The person's companion must have been equally skilled for they both wore similar masks, though the third one stood still, in a relaxed stance.  
  
  
  
If he… if he… moved? Fought? Used something, something… fireball… something…  
  
  
  
Using his left hand to hold up his head, he quickly realized that he still couldn't remember anything and his body felt so heavy. He wobbled on his feet as he looked as though he was going to tip over at any given moment. His world was getting blurry.  
  
  
  
Taking a step forward, the first Anbu was going to steady her charge and assist him, but stopped as she found her ward suddenly straightening and with clear eyes, concentrated solely on her.  
  
  
  
Taking a cautious step back, she raised her hands in a gesture of peace as she found herself slightly surprised that her ward could focus so clearly and effortlessly, since he seemed dizzy and off balance moments before.  
  
  
  
Letting loose a slightly ragged breath, he found himself glad that the first person backed off. If there was going to be a fight, he doubted that he could have won. He felt tired. So very tired. There was also the inconsistent need of thinking about whom he was; bringing ringing headaches with every thought and attempt, making him feel dizzy and fatigued.   
  
  
  
Sitting down, he leaned against the wall as he continued to look at the people standing before him. He wondered why he suddenly felt tired and tried to fight back against the urge to sleep.  
  
  
  
Slowly gaining ground, he almost forced the urges to vanish but slowly his eyes began to droop and within moments he was gently snoring as he head hung forward.   
  
  
  
Letting loose a breath, the second person in the room found himself breathing from exertion. He had used basic genjustsu to simply make the fox demon brat fall asleep, but the young boy before him put up an amazing amount of resistance. It had taken a lot out of him to simply put the boy into an induced sleep. It was surprisingly hard considering that the young boy was already woozy…  
  
  
  
Standing still, his partner knowing exactly what had taken place but said nothing. All they could do was wait for the Fifth to get here. Thinking about how much effort it took to do such a simple jutsu, he found himself thinking that if the young boy ever learnt the subtleties of genjutsu, he would become very resilient to it. In short he would become a monster when compared to the likes of himself.  
  
  
  
Containing a shiver, the man simply waited, his mind clear as he watched the slumped body of the sleeping boy.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Princess Tsunade, one of the Legendary Three, Grandchild to the first Hokage and now known as the Fifth Hokage of Konoha Village, strode down the long dark corridors quickly, her mind in a pensive mood as she thought on Naruto.  
  
  
  
Though she wasn't present during the incident that caused Naruto to lapse into his long coma, she had many educated guesses on what had happened. However, she would not dwell upon them until she had further information.  
  
  
  
Instead she played the facts through her head as quickly and clearly as possible. The aftermath of the 'Temple' incident left the ancient structure damaged and at least 13 wounded from the sudden explosion of what the witnesses stated as a ripple of pure chakra. After the dust had settled, Naruto was found, unconscious. He was then immediately brought to her as per her instructions, that in any case of serious injury he was to be brought to her attention immediately.   
  
  
  
After twelve hours of exhausting medical trails and tests, she and Jiraiya had stopped due to the fact that anything they tried was futile. Then as though to challenge her skills, strange markings began to spread from were the nine tails seal resided. Within a full day, the young boy was fully covered in strange archaic seal.  
  
  
  
Within the next few days, Naruto's body began to thrash around violently, as though he was in constant pain. With nothing to lose, Tsunade herself administered specific drugs that would both nourish his body and force it to relax.  
  
  
  
Then after a month had passed with no changes, she then ordered that he be brought to this specific building were only three types of people knew of. Those of the Council, Jounins and Anbu. Only they knew of this specific location were tests and harsh interrogation were held. This specific building was exactly twelve kilometers southwest from the village, helping it maintain high security and secrecy.  
  
  
  
Through investigations of the ancient history written by the first Hokage himself, Tsunade was startled to learn that something of this nature happened long, long ago, during the early era of Fire Country. With instructions, along with Jihrya's help, she created five circular barrier seals from ink and wax that would buffer the body's sudden and violent movements.  
  
  
  
It was said that the First had discovered a withered text, which told of a specific event that was almost impossible. This would only affect very rare and specific people and the person would exist in a coma like state seemed as if the person's soul no longer resided within their own body.   
  
  
  
The body would then be covered in odd runes and would react to stimuli that were nonexistent and was guessed that the body was responding to a stimulus that was affecting the soul that would then in turn simultaneously affect the body. However, with their lack of knowledge back then, the text stated that the body eventually died from what was considered malnourishment.  
  
  
  
It was also stated that the body radiated no chakra, as though it were dead, and the body would react on its own, flailing about from nothing. The body would not react to all known medical treatments back then nor would it react to poisons and herbs that would force reaction from the body. Knowing not what to do, the specialists of that time preserved their findings should a similar even happen in the future.  
  
  
  
The text was then placed in a medical academy, which would be destroyed three hundred and sixty five years later, only to be found by the First Hokage during his quest for a new and proud village.  
  
  
  
The First Hokage, believing that all knowledge should be preserved, had copied the text himself, coping the single volume word for word and with the finished volume, placed it as the first book within his newly founded Konoha Village.  
  
  
  
The seals that she placed down around Naruto would eventually evaporate, as stated in the text, after a given time or when the person would once again radiate chakra, meaning that they had survived and woken up, which never happened to the first person to fall to such weird events.  
  
  
  
For preparations, she had set no less then three Anbu on guard at all times. Should anything go horribly wrong and the worse happen, the Nine Tailed Fox Demon awakening, there would at least be a warning before it started to attack the village.  
  
  
  
Walking before the door to Naruto's room, she gently slid it open and was surprised to see the young boy not only awake but currently standing and was at that moment studying her, taking in everything about her, from her clothes to the way she was still holding the sliding door.  
  
  
  
Gently stepping into the room, the first Anbu that she had set on guard quickly glided to her side and whispered into her ear.  
  
  
  
"He suddenly awoke. He made no sound standing up and has been standing since. He has attempted nothing and neither have we, per your orders." The Anbu whispered gently, her voice barely a sound. "Also Tesku had forced him to sleep with simple genjutsu but he quickly woke up afterwards as Tesku approached him. He seems very resilient to low-end genjustsu. Tesku wasn't able to force him asleep again. We didn't want to risk using higher level genjutsu."   
  
  
  
Weighing her choices carefully, Tsunade let out a gentle sigh as she studied the young man before her. Clothed in only the single blanket around his waist, he seemed perfectly fine. There were no longer any seals on his body that she could see nor any seals on the floor as she had expected.  
  
  
  
However, he had changed as well. Though he was thin and gangly ten months ago, he now seemed thinner and leaner. The biggest changes however were both his eyes and his lack of action. The Naruto she remembered was naïve and expressive, acting on impulse and belief. This Naruto seemed calm and withdrawn as he continued to study her. The Naruto she remembered shouldn't have been able to resist skillfully applied genjustu, especially genjustsu used by her hand picked Anbu… it seemed that much has changed.  
  
  
  
With knowledge that Naruto had woken from his coma, Tsunade was confident that Jiraiya would be here momentarily as she had sent word to the council of were she was immediately going.  
  
  
  
"Hi. Did you have a good nap, Naruto?" Tsunade asked gently in a girlish voice as she began to probe him.  
  
  
  
"Hello. I slept… well." Naruto responded quietly in a monotone voice, his mind screaming at him as he felt as though he were incomplete, which he was.  
  
  
  
Letting loose a warm grin, Tsunade then kneeled in front of Naruto and allowed her grin to bloom into a smile. "Then how do you feel now?"  
  
  
  
Naruto blinked a few times as he thought on his answer for a scant moment. "I feel… tired and… incomplete… but I do have a few questions…" he stated slowly as he studied the young woman before him. She looked pretty enough but he got the feeling that she was older then she looked. Though robed in simplistic clothing, she gave off a commanding aura. He found himself staring at her two pigtails that gently swished to and fro with her movements.  
  
  
  
Tsunade's smile withered slightly as her mind took in the information, however she brightened again knowing that at least he was awake and the hard part was at last over. "What is it? If I can answer, I will answer." She was confident that the worse was over.  
  
  
  
Looking straight into her eyes, Naruto simply asked a question that forced the Fifth's eyes to widen.  
  
  
  
"Who are you and… who am I?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Stepping through the forest in wonder, Naruto blinked as he was overwhelmed by a single color… Green. He felt as though he hadn't seen so much green in his life though his clouded memory of his childhood told him that green was ever part of Konoha Village.  
  
  
  
Clenching his jaw in annoyance, Naruto felt frustration flare as he remembered his inability to sleep. He felt restless and had only caught an hour or two of rest before sunlight brought him back to the waking world. It had been this way for the past week, never more then a few hours sleep before he once again awoke. He found himself often with a short temper.  
  
  
  
The person who he discovered was known as Tsunade-Sama, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha village had given him a quick run through of who he was and some sketchy words of his past. He was told quickly of the village and their more recent battle with other villages. He was told that he was safe and was free to go, but every now and then someone would check in on him.  
  
  
  
He was then shown his old home, which had a film of dust everywhere, showing that the place had fallen to disuse over a long course of time. With all his excess energy, Naruto cleaned everything and had thrown out the spoiled food and leftover garbage. He had then bought fresh groceries with what the fifth had stated was his money and spent his time exploring his home and personal possessions.  
  
  
  
Then on this single morning as he got up, he decided that he should spend some time to view the outer half the city. After brushing his teeth in the morning light, he had set out to explore the place, which he was supposed to call home.   
  
  
  
After a short jog, his frustration once again skyrocketed. His body, which was in good if not great shape, seemed much faster then he remembered. He was able to react to things almost immediately and could continue to run longer and harder then before. Yet it was confusing and he found it hard to not trip every now and then due to the fact that his body seemed alien to him. What did draw his frustration the most was the fact that though his body was faster then more responsive then he ever remembered, but it also was infinitely slower then what he was used too.  
  
  
  
It angered him that he didn't understand what was going on. He was faster then ever before yet his body seemed slow and sluggish to his mind. It made no sense.  
  
  
  
Coming to a stop where a huge wall formed a barrier between the city and forest, there were gaping holes that lead into the green forest that lay beyond outer walls. Here and there were dozens of men who were diligently working on repairing the massively damaged high walls of the city.  
  
  
  
Naruto found it was strangely easy to slip out to the forest and no one really seemed to notice while he simply walked into the huge green forest. He ran for a little while, feeling the exilerhation of the forest flow around him before he slowed down as he began to approach a giant tree. He fount it odd that as he walked beneath the gigantic trees he started to feel relaxed and at peace.  
  
  
  
Finding an especially large and elderly tree, which had branches as thick as his body, Naruto instantly climbed up. Sitting down so that his back leaned against the trunk of the tree, Naruto smiled in content after a hard run through the forest. Here he felt relief after his tiring, hard running. His long run made him tired and his lack of sleep began to whisper to his mind and body. Before long he began to feel fatigue clawing at his mind, lulling him towards sleep that he had been deprived of.  
  
  
  
His lulled thoughts centered on what had happened during the week, when he had been released from the person who was called the Fifth Hokage and was allowed to live as he did before. It was strange, hearing the words the 'Fifth', as though the Fourth was dead or something. But he didn't understand and was too confused to really care. His memories were muddled and it was painful to think upon them.  
  
  
  
Looking ahead of himself, Naruto's eyes widened momentarily as he finally noticed the grand view from his branch. The expansive forest of trees stretched out before him with perfect clarity under the clear blue sky. He had climbed up a really tall tree and taking in the deep breaths of clean fresh air, Naruto found his head bobbing gently and before he knew it, he had promptly fallen into a deep, deep sleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Blinking once, Naruto suddenly found himself standing in the middle of a dark and dank area. He was in the middle of a long corridor that looked eerily familiar. Taking a step forward, Naruto stopped as he found himself ankle deep in water that spread across the floor, his single ripple moving gently across the still surface.  
  
  
  
Taking a few cautious steps forward, Naruto suddenly noticed a long corridor that stretched to his right. Pausing momentarily he looked down the corridor and then behind him. There was nothing behind him, just a dark passage way that he felt lead to nothing and after a moments thought, Naruto looked into the right corridor and walked in.  
  
  
  
Leaving the main path, Naruto slowly moved forward and quickly came to a door, which looked slightly battered and used. The door was colored a deep gray that Naruto spontaneously discovered was the same color as the walls. Feeling odd at why he didn't notice sooner, Naruto opened the door and froze as he stared into its depths.   
  
  
  
A green field stretched before him, the bright sun hung overhead as he ran forward, his small feet carrying him through the lush grass towards a distant hill. Running up he came to a stop as he reached the crest of the hill. Staring ahead, he saw a few dozen families laughing as they sat at a picnic. Smiling and laughing they cheered each other on as they played and ate in merriment. Then they saw him, and all the adult faces that noticed quickly lost their merriment and turned into scorn and hatred. Their features falling into anger that pushed him back. Within moments he was running down the hill, tears caressing his cheeks as he ran off into the comfort of loneliness.  
  
  
  
Heaving in a deep breath, Naruto's eyes focused, bringing himself back into the dark corridor, his back leaning against the gray wall. Before him stood the closed door that he had opened no less then a scant moment ago…  
  
  
  
Not wanting to go further, Naruto quickly retreated back into the first corridor, were he stopped and turned around, staring into the dark tunnel that he had just left. Blinking Naruto quickly scanned around as he slowly moved forward, unsure of were he exactly was or why that one door showed him a piece of his past.  
  
  
  
As he continued, he soon came across another corridor, this time it stretched to his left and gathering his courage, he detoured from the path and like the first one, this corridor stretched before him almost instantly he came to a gray door.  
  
  
  
Reaching up, Naruto was surprised to see his arm and hand shake from tension as he forced himself to open the door before him…  
  
  
  
Standing in the middle of the street, countless people streamed to and fro, adults that towered over him and children that danced past him… gathering his breath, he screamed at the top of his lungs, his high pitched voice piercing the rather still atmosphere. "I will become HOKAGE!!!" he bellowed… yet no one noticed, no one glanced at him nor acknowledged his statement. They all continued in their lives, oblivious to a young boy who had just yelled something out. Glancing around frantically, he began to shake from loss. He had just said something yet no one noticed… no one cared…  
  
  
  
Backing away quickly, Naruto felt his back slam into the wall. Once again he was back in the gray corridors and moving quickly he was back in what he dubbed the main corridor.  
  
  
  
However, his thoughts on were he was, was growing as he thought on what he had just seen and felt. Though he could guess at were he was, he instead continued on, ignoring the fact that he was unsure of what he was to face or the outcome of these experiences. He had momentarily thought of it as a dream, but those few moments staring within the doors, quickly blew away any chance of this being a dream. It was all too real… all too painful…  
  
  
  
What were once minutes stretched into hours and Naruto's eyes quickly adjusted to his surroundings, he had walked for what had to be an eternity. He had explored the third and fourth corridors more thoroughly; his curiosity overcoming any fears as he walked thought the corridors. He had even backtracked and explored the first two he had left behind.  
  
  
  
He had come to realize that each door was a piece of memory and each corridor a segment of his life that he guessed would have been measured by what he guessed a year per corridor. Then that would mean that the world he was in currently was within his own mind… the thoughts were slightly unsettling as he was unsure of why he was here…  
  
  
  
The first two corridors had very few doors and that was expected, as he couldn't remember much from his early days as a child. The third and fourth more doors but it wasn't until after the fifth corridor that there was anything more then a handful of doors. The memories he saw never had a smiling face for him, no laughter or friendship. It seemed that all he knew was loneliness and deep down, he suspected that it was true, that he never had a friend or family.  
  
  
  
But as he continued, the corridors became empty again, as though he couldn't remember anything after the age of thirteen or so. It was all so saddening, the jumbles of memories that held no warmth of love or friendship. All he could remember was the cold stares of other children and the even colder stares of the adults.  
  
  
  
There were however, many missing doors were there should have been at least one. He had come to see a pattern in the doors as during the eighth corridors, the doors were lined up almost side by side yet every now and then there would be a space were a door should have been…  
  
  
  
Did this mean that he had forgotten something? Or was his mind damaged and barely functioning as was? Shaking his head from side to side, Naruto continued onwards, walking down the corridors as visiting doors that held cold and slightly unwanted memories.  
  
  
  
After a second eternity Naruto found himself feeling invigorated, as though by seeing memories of his past he was becoming stronger but it was odd and unsettling. He knew things that he guessed other people, like himself, knew. He was probably only around fourteen or so in age yet his corridors went past the thirties. After the thirtieth corridor, Naruto found that he could begin to feel doorways and were they were in each corridor, making the quest for seeing memories much easier.  
  
  
  
It was rather scary as he passed some corridors without thought, knowing full well that there were no doors down that path, that corridor that most likely represented a year of his life. The first handfuls of corridors were full of his childhood memories and he saw himself grow before his own eyes and saw his own personality develop behind those doors. Yet these newer ones gave memories that were sparse and made no sense. There were battles and people in strange lands. Violence and loneliness were all he saw.  
  
  
  
After he walked path the hundred and seventy-something corridor, Naruto suddenly realized that he had lost count but he didn't care at that point. He still hadn't encountered a friendly face or anything close to the warmth that he craved for in his life.  
  
  
  
Then in what he guessed was the third eternity Naruto came to an end.  
  
  
  
The corridor came to an abrupt stop and enlarged into a rather big room. Before him towered twin gates that made Naruto wonder what was behind them.  
  
  
  
Walking closer, Naruto studied the gate as the distance between them dwindled. The iron like bars was as thick as his waist and only darkness could be seen behind them.  
  
  
  
Making his way to the middle of the gate, were the two halves met, Naruto looked up and was suddenly expecting to see a simple piece of paper with something like the characters of 'Seal" inscribed upon them yet he was alarmed to find no such paper. He was also confused to as why he expected a piece of paper when this was the first time he was here… wasn't it?  
  
  
  
Shaking his head, Naruto cleared his mind of such nonsense as he looked up. Though he felt that he had seen this once before in a distant time, he couldn't for the life of him remember when it was or where.  
  
  
  
"Heh Heh Heh…" A devilish laughter filled the air the still air, startling the young shinobi from his thoughts.  
  
  
  
Whipping his head form side to side, Naruto scanned the area but was alarmed that he couldn't find the origins of the wicked laughter.  
  
  
  
"So you have come at last…" the powerful voice stated in a knowing tone.  
  
  
  
"Who are you!" Naruto challenged the room, hoping that the speaker would reveal himself.  
  
  
  
"Ah, it seems that you don't know who I am… no matter, you'll know soon enough."  
  
  
  
Naruto stared ahead of him as a large form emerged from the shadows, large demon red eyes centering themselves on the other single person in the room.  
  
  
  
"Who are you!" Naruto asked once again as he found himself backing away from a large and terrible power. He was trembling.  
  
  
  
"Who I am, is of no consequence at the moment. What matters is who are you? Do you even know?" the large being asked in an amused voice.  
  
  
  
"I am Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto stated as he stared into the glowing red eyes.  
  
  
  
"So you are, yet I am sure that you don't remember very much about your life. A few sparse memories here and there…"  
  
  
  
"What do you know?" Naruto asked fearfully as he felt the thing's words chill his bone. His trembling grew slightly.  
  
  
  
"I know who you are." The voice stated simply, seeming huge and content.  
  
  
  
"I don't believe you!" Naruto screamed in anger, the knowledge that something devilish knew him better then himself, was frightening. He was beginning to grow cold.  
  
  
  
"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not. You'll find the truth of my words soon enough." The voice stated hauntingly as it laughed.  
  
  
  
Unable to say a word, Naruto simply glared at the red eyes what drilled into his mind and soul.  
  
  
  
Then it moved.  
  
  
  
The gates shifted forward as a huge furry beast stepped through. As it effortlessly pushed aside the massive gates, an incredible force of power seemed to burst out from the thing, encompassing the air around itself in an almost solid barrier of presence.  
  
  
  
Looking up, Naruto's eyes widened as it took several moments before his mind registered what his body felt and his eyes saw. "A Fox?" then Naruto saw that it had nine tails…  
  
  
  
Grinning, the fox demon came out of his cage and stared down at the gaping young man before him. "I am more then a puny fox. I am a Nine Tailed Fox Demon!"  
  
  
  
The voice penetrated Naruto's mind and touched something as he suddenly dropped in agony. Memories of a past suddenly came rushing into his mind. A man with silver-white hair telling him that he was a nine tails fox demon… the nine tailed fox demon… the demon that almost destroyed the village years ago…  
  
  
  
"Deep down inside… All Hate you!" the words rang within his head, echoing in his soul as the words ripped him apart. The man stated truthfully with scorn entwined in his voice.  
  
  
  
Screaming in pain Naruto blanked out as emotions overran him. The people's cold hatred suddenly came into perspective as he stared at the huge beast before him… yet Naruto found that within himself, there was no hatred or malice… just cold acceptance and regret. His breathing was pained and ragged.  
  
  
  
"You are confused… no matter… I'll leave you with a gift. You have been restless and unable to sleep, correct?" the fox demon spoke ignoring the fact that Naruto was shaking in pain and confusion.  
  
  
  
Looking up, Naruto slowly nodded, unsure of what to do as the knowledge of what he was, began to sink in.  
  
  
  
"Exercise. Before you go to bed tonight, exercise. You'll sleep like a baby." The fox demon stated knowingly as it grinned, showing off many very large and very sharp teeth.  
  
  
  
"What exercises and how do you know it will even work!" Naruto stated aloud suddenly hopeful at the prospect of being able to sleep at night again.  
  
  
  
The fox demon laughed as he heard the question. "I know more then you can guess. I am free now, but I choose to remain here. Tell no one of this. As to the exercises, I am in your mind, when the time comes you can ask or I'll tell you." The fox demon said in an amused tone as it settled itself onto the floor, displacing water with its huge bulk. "Now go, you no longer need to be here…"  
  
  
  
Naruto suddenly tensed as he felt himself being grabbed by the fox demon's raw chakra and was pulled someplace...  
  
  
  
Snapping open his eyes, Naruto stared out at the sun, feeling slightly more rested then he had in days. The memories of what had just happened was fresh in his mind and he was uneasy as he felt something else in his mind… he felt as though the demon had said a final word that he didn't hear.  
  
  
  
Preparing to go back to his home, Naruto stopped momentarily as he suddenly realized something… what the word could have been, though he was unsure, he was almost positive the fox demon had called him… master… at the very end. Right before the demon's chakra pulled him back into his body.  
  
  
  
Shaking his head at the stupidity of such a thought, Naruto frowned as he gracefully leaped form the tree and onto the soft forest floor. He was still unsure of the truth of the demon's words, but he oddly enough found that he trusted it. He was also uneasy as he felt at peace with the demon free within his own mind and soul…  
  
  
  
With nothing to lose, Naruto walked home, feeling more peaceful then he did when he had originally awakened. He now had a sense of who he once was and a feel for what he now was.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The morning sunlight shined brightly through the open window as a gentle breeze passed by, gently brushing a young man's blonde hair with its passing.  
  
  
  
Stifling a low groan of waking up, Naruto slowly got up and rubbed his eyes. Turning his head around to face the window, he felt a genuine smile grow.  
  
  
  
"Guess the fox was right…" Naruto muttered to himself as he climbed out of bed, feeling relaxed and content. His feet touched the cool wooden floor of his apartment, waking the rest of his body as he began to perform his morning exercises, which was the exact duplicate of the exercises he preformed the night before.  
  
  
  
After quickly brushing his teeth he then made himself a sandwich, which he slowly chewed on as he thought upon the previous night. He had talked with the demon within him and was at first surprised of what he had been asked to do. He started with a hundred push-ups, a hundred squats and then finally another hundred push-ups while on a handstand.  
  
  
  
Within two hours he had completed the exercises that the annoying fox explained to him, the body seemed to flow with his mind, the flesh remembering experiences that Naruto himself did not. His morning exercises took slightly less then two hours, meaning that he was still not as strong as he would have liked to be.  
  
  
  
Or should be… Naruto thought to himself with some surprise.  
  
  
  
This day however, Naruto planned on training. He had awoken much weaker then what he guessed as his old self. If he ever planned on overcoming the frustrating lag between the response of his body and the thoughts of mind, he needed to practice. Now.  
  
  
  
Finishing his meal, Naruto then walked to his room and went straight to his closet were he kept his extra garments. He was already wearing his net undershirt so he wasn't naked or anything, like the day he had awoken from his coma, but he didn't feel like wearing it out in public, as it seemed wrong for some reason or other.  
  
  
  
Looking through is ever-wide range of only orange pants and jackets, Naruto found himself awed at the rather singular wardrobe he owned. Looking harder, he eventually found nothing. All he owned were the orange style jackets and pants…  
  
  
  
Tugging on the orange clothing, he frowned as he felt the color odd and out of place. He should go out and get something else to wear first, before he even thought of training. After all it would make his life easier if he felt at ease walking around in public instead of feeling like a nincompoop in an orange getup.  
  
  
  
Walking out of his home and out into the broad daylight, Naruto decided that he would head towards the market and find those newer non-orange clothes.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The market was rather loud and bustling and as Naruto walked through it. He felt odd as he saw the many rather cheerful people walking around and doing the things that he guessed they did everyday. Men, women and children moved up and down the streets, yelling, laughing, and arguing with each other.  
  
  
  
However the signs of battle that raged across the street were still around. Here and there was a damaged wall or a chipped corner from a building. The street though in good repair, had scars marking many of the stones and the new stones could be distinguished by their luster, unlike the other stones were thousands have tread across.  
  
  
  
Wandering through the market Naruto saw many stores and stalls. There were many fresh fruit stands were he stopped once and bought an apple. Charms, jewelry and other many assorted things littered the various stands that littered the streets while contrasting, large signs hung from the stores, telling the people of what goods or services could be bought within.  
  
  
  
Seeing the sign that read 'Tal's Tailoring' Naruto stopped for a moment. The shop's sign was in golden leaf words with a large 'Open' sign hanging behind a large and elegant glass window. After a few seconds of consideration he walked in, jingling a small bell as he opened the door inwards.   
  
  
  
The shop was rather small and had a bunch of mirrors leaning against the wall and Naruto couldn't for the life of him see anything resembling clothes anywhere. Staring at his reflection in one of the mirrors, Naruto found himself annoyed with his own reflection. The clothes he was wearing didn't suit him at all.  
  
  
  
Naruto blinked once as he scanned the room and wondered that perhaps he misunderstood tailor. Maybe tailoring was crafting mirrors and he didn't need mirrors.  
  
  
  
However, within moments a lithe, youthful looking man came out, his face in a beaming smile until he saw who was standing in his store. His smile melted almost instantly as he adjusted a pair of square glasses so they hugged his nose higher up. A front counter stood beside him, coming up to the man's ribs.  
  
  
  
"If clothes are what you need, you have come to the right place. Now then, how can I… help you?" the man asked as he closed his eyes into a hollow smile. His hands were clasped together in front of him. He was dressed in a well-fit suit of dark red that seemed to fit his person perfectly. The man's blond hair was cut short, ending around mid ear.  
  
  
  
Looking at the man, Naruto felt a pronounce frown tug at his lips. "Can you make me a set of clothes or not?" Naruto stated out of annoyance. He was hated for something he had no control over making him rather narrow minded about his views of the general populace in the village. He had accepted the demon within, but not the stupid masses.  
  
  
  
"Perhaps not…" the man replied his eyes still close and the hollow smile still plastered on his face. His posture was stiff as a board.  
  
  
  
"Then you aren't good enough…" Naruto whispered, mainly to himself, as he turned to leave.  
  
  
  
"Pardon me?" the man cried out as Naruto turned to leave. "Did you just say something sir?"  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry, did you miss it?" Naruto inquired with a slight tilt of his head as he turned back around. The man nodded humbly. "Oh, I didn't mean to say it so low. I said, Your - Not - Good – Enough." Naruto stated as he sounded the last few words separately while turning around yet again.  
  
  
  
The man's left eyebrow twitched.  
  
  
  
"Wait!" the man commanded aloud, making Naruto pause. "What exactly do you mean, not good enough?"  
  
  
  
With a gentle sigh, Naruto once again turned around. If this continued much longer, he felt that he would fall as the room was starting to spin slightly.  
  
  
  
Blinking for a moment, Naruto considered his words. "I mean exactly what I said. You are not good enough. Was I unclear?"   
  
  
  
Was the man dense?  
  
  
  
The man licked his lips once as his left eyebrow twitched again. "I am the best in town." He stated solemnly.  
  
  
  
A slight frown creased Naruto's lips as he was starting to get annoyed. "I'm sure you are…" Naruto said with skepticism but decided against turning around to leave, in case the man had some witty reply or such. Dealing with these cold adults was beginning to grate on his nerves. He idly wondered how dense the man was as even the people at the market, people who hated his guts with their cold and vengeful eyes, were much more tolerable then this irritating man.  
  
  
  
"My work is unrivaled in this village. People from other villages come to buy clothes from me!" the men stated with a voice trembling on all out war, his hands were tense as they clamped against each other.  
  
  
  
Naruto felt his face fall into half a frown, which was directed at the man's last statement. "This means nothing to me." He was getting tired of this useless conversation. He had to go find a tailor for his new clothes so he could go train. The day was wearing thin.  
  
  
  
The man suppressed the urge to scream at the fox brat but upon seeing the kid's eyes he felt anger skyrocket. Those eyes were those of someone waiting for a stupid person to finish talking so they could leave…  
  
  
  
"I shall make them for you." the man stated out loud.  
  
  
  
"Huh?" Naruto said as confusion racked his brain.  
  
  
  
"Come here brat, I'll make you clothes that you'll die to wear!" the man stated out even louder as he shook his fist at the young boy.  
  
  
  
Seeing no reason as to why not listen to the man, Naruto found himself following the man to a corner of the store were he was asked to stand on a stand between a semicircle of six large mirrors.  
  
  
  
The man quickly went to work, taking the young body's measurements and scribbling them down on a small pad of paper as he mumbled to himself.  
  
  
  
"What style of clothing are you looking for? And what kind of material do you want used?" the man asked crisply, his mind falling into an age old habit as he began to calculate the measurements of the body and hours it would take to weave the clothes together.  
  
  
  
There was a minute of silence.  
  
  
  
"Uhhhh… I'm not sure..." Naruto stated truthfully after a few moments of consideration.  
  
  
  
"What!?!?" the man bawled out. "You don't even know what you want and you consider me an idiot?!?"  
  
  
  
Naruto felt his face slide into a grin slightly as he met the man eye to eye. "Hehe, I guess so."  
  
  
  
The man however, instantly calmed down as he met the young man's eyes. He saw in them something he had only seen twice before in his life. "I HAVE IT!!!" he stated out loud.  
  
  
  
Naruto blinked in return.  
  
  
  
"GeNius! BeauTiful! EleGant!" the man spouted out as he shook his arms towards the heavens.  
  
  
  
Naruto backed away slowly…  
  
  
  
Then turning back to the young man, the man grabbed a shoulder. "Just you wait, I Tal, son of Tal of Tal, will show you! A set of clothes that only YOU can wear!" he stated in a booming voice, his eyes blazing with holy fire that were ever so slowly setting fire to his eyebrows…  
  
  
  
Naruto couldn't retreat due to the fact that Tal had a good grip on his shoulder… but he felt fear nonetheless.  
  
  
  
"Yes… come back in a few days... I'll have your clothes ready by then. Please trust me on this, ask nothing, for I will weave perfection for you!" Tal stated with holy fervor. "What is your name? I need it for the records, of course. Not everyone gets perfection that only they can wear."  
  
  
  
Nodding quickly Naruto found he liked the man. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." He stated proudly but suddenly had a question. "How much will it cost?"  
  
  
  
"Nothing." The man said with a wave of his hand. "For the perfection of a piece of clothing that will cling lithely to the soul's body, eyes and heart, I can never charge a thing! Not even gratitude!"  
  
  
  
Naruto's jaw fell slowly open as he began to attempt backing away...  
  
  
  
"For this is the true form of art, a form that can never be charged for, just as love cannot be bought, nether can the perfection of artistic tailoring! For it would lessen the perfection of the piece of art…" the man continued.  
  
  
  
Naruto wanted to go. Now.  
  
  
  
"It is a duty of my family. For my father and grand father and great grandfather and especially my great, great grandfather…" Tal stated proudly for a few minutes before he released Naruto's shoulder. "I hated you once but never again! You are a divine soul that was meant to wear these clothes soon to be!"  
  
  
  
"Uh, yea…" Naruto replied intelligently.  
  
  
  
"Now if you excuse me, I must now close the store, for your clothes scream to be weaved. No less then three days will it take for me to weave you clothing!" Tal stated apologetically as he pushed Naruto out of his store. "Come back in three days, Uzumaki Naruto. Your clothes will be finished by then!"  
  
  
  
Smiling a genuine smile, Naruto bowed respectfully. "Perhaps you are good enough."  
  
  
  
"We shall see. The gods of the spool and thread have charged me once again with the task of weaving perfection. We shall see if I am man enough for this challenge!" Tal stated grandly as he closed the door to his shop and changed his hanging sign from 'Open' to 'Close'.  
  
  
  
"Gods of spool and thread?" Naruto asked the closed door in confusion before he left to go train, away from the crazed tailor and his odd gods…  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Standing among the trees, Naruto felt at peace here. The sounds of a running stream, which he guessed was off to his left side, filled the air with its soothing music. The birds flew and chirped lively among the trees, chatting with squirrels under the warm afternoon sun.  
  
  
  
Standing by the sturdy tree he had taken a nap on during the previous day, Naruto gently trailed his left hand down the tree's rough bark. The feeling of antiquity flowed from the tree into his hand, the warmth of life seemingly soft and fragile. The afternoon sun glinted in the clear blue sky, drawing Naruto's attention as shafts of light grazed through the serene forest.  
  
  
  
Peeling his eyes from the tree and its warmth, Naruto then gazed ahead and saw what he didn't see the previous day. Before him, stood a clear glade of nothing but green grass that bent with a light flow of air that flew through the forest floor.  
  
  
  
With the gentle wind that passed by, Naruto felt himself relax as he titled his head upwards, letting the wind ruffle his hair and caress his body and soul. Nostrils flaring, the clean scent of purity and life drifted into his lungs, filling his entire sense with peace.  
  
  
  
Lowering his head and opening his eyes, Naruto blinked slowly as he raked his right hand through his hair, reveling in the moment of tranquility. With a slight start, he realized that he wore a smile as the wind dwindled and left him to fly through other parts of the forest.  
  
  
  
Filled with confidence, Naruto soon walked into the center of the glade, the grass rustling with his simple passage. Within moments he was at what he considered the middle of the glade and turned his thoughts inwards.  
  
  
  
Fox, I'm ready to begin my training, what should I do? Naruto asked silently into his mind's depths.  
  
  
  
Heh. Just do the basics brat, the rest will follow… a single amused voice responded cryptically.  
  
  
  
Brows furrowing in confusion, Naruto frowned as he found that he didn't understand what the fox had just told him. Basics? What basics? But when he asked again, there was no reply.  
  
  
  
Pondering on the simple instructions, Naruto then just gave up. Basics. Maybe the fox meant basic taijutsu. Basics in fighting…  
  
  
  
Licking his lips once, Naruto then simply began to do simple punches and kicks. His limbs surprisingly instantly moved with half a thought. He was also surprised at how fast he could attack and recover.  
  
  
  
However, as he tried to speed up his attacks, he quickly began to lose precision and his limbs started to flail about, forcing him to come to a complete stop. Gritting his teeth, Naruto proceeded to try again. This was the first physical wall that he had encountered.  
  
  
  
After the fourth try, Naruto was thoroughly grounding his teeth to dust. Whenever he reached a certain speed, his attacks began to lose power as they flailed about. He had tried different things, different ways try to keep his attacks crisps as well as fast, but it was a lost cause.  
  
  
  
Letting out a cry of frustration, Naruto suddenly froze as he felt déjà vu encompass him.  
  
  
  
"Naruto, power is fine but speed is finer. However, with speed, power is lost. How will you over come this barrier? This barrier that separates the strong from the weak?" an unknown yet familiar voice questioned him, echoing in both his mind and his soul.  
  
  
  
Pausing to wait for the voice to continue, Naruto instead received nothing for his wait. Thinking hard, he pondered on what the voice was trying to tell him. Barrier?  
  
  
  
Following his instincts, he raised his fists and slowly threw his punches, followed by a few well-placed kicks. Breathing hard, Naruto struggled as he continued to trace his thoughts with his instincts and once again slowly threw a few punches and kicks…  
  
  
  
Then in a moment's surprise he understood. The barrier was that which separated his mind from his body! Though his body knew many things, and his mind was unable to understand what his body knew. He would have to train his mind and body so that they could understand each other.  
  
  
  
For a third and then a fourth time, Naruto slowly threw his punches and kicks, but this time he concentrated on how his body moved, responding to what his mind ordered.  
  
  
  
Tightening his fists, Naruto then began a simple flow of punches and kicks. As he preformed the basics, he slowly sped up his movements, raising the speed of his attacks while concentrating on how he expected his body to move.  
  
  
  
Punches and kicks flowed through the air in a blur, the body working in almost perfect unity with his mind. Though his mind was surprised at how fast he could move, his body it seemed was working fluidly with his thoughts, only stuttering when his mind got sidetracked, which was often.  
  
  
  
The high afternoon sun soon began to dip as Naruto lost himself to the rhythms of his mind and body, both moving smoothly as they formed a greater bond between each other.  
  
  
  
As the sun finally began to dip into the horizon, Naruto was forced to stop as fatigue was finalizing its grip on his mind and body. The rumbling of his starved stomach didn't help either. Giving to his hunger, Naruto blinked as he stared into the half lit horizon before he turned around and headed home, where food, a night's exercise and slept awaited for him.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Early the next day, Naruto was back at the gentle glade were he continued to practice his attacks, his body moving with his mind as he preformed more and more complex strikes.  
  
  
  
It soon became apparent that his body was beginning to lag behind his thoughts, clear as they were, the body couldn't seem to keep up. It was an odd and interesting experience.  
  
  
  
Then as though bidden by the strong thoughts of simple exercises that would make him body stronger, the feelings of déjà vu once again overcame him. With eyes that widened in surprise, Naruto saw something from his past.  
  
  
  
A shadowed figure stood before him. Naruto's own head only reached the man's chest but he looked up eagerly, waiting for the man to speak. "Naruto, those this seems pointless, it is effective. Your body will become stronger but simple strength can easily turn into your greatest weakness. Form other strengths and bonds in your body. Watch closely Naruto, for I shall show you a path that only few can walk…" the shadowed figure stated as he began to show odd exercises…  
  
  
  
Blinking Naruto looked around, expecting to see the shadowed man staring at him in expectation. Though he knew it was only a glimpse of his past, Naruto was disappointed to see no one. All he knew about the stranger was that it was a man, a man that he seemed to respect and hold in high esteem.  
  
  
  
With nothing to lose, Naruto decided that he would do what the man had told him to do. Finding a fairly small rock, oval in size that would effortlessly fit in his hand so that he could hold it in his fists, Naruto began.  
  
  
  
He repeated what he did yesterday, throwing punches as fast as possible, straightforward punches that would lance through the air in a blurry barrage of speed and power. But as he continued, he quickly felt the strain, as the added weights effortlessly became a burden, throwing off his accuracy and slowing him down.  
  
  
  
However, he fought on, moving his crying arms without thought, his iron hard will forcing them to move, his single vision of strength overcoming the boundaries of his flesh. He suddenly found vast strength to carry on. His body no longer screaming in pain, Naruto was awed at what he could suddenly do. He could continue his training faster then before as he pushed his body beyond what he considered his limits.  
  
  
  
Soon night once again began it climb, the sunning setting as Naruto had switched from rocks in his hands to rocks attached around his feet, increasing the power of his legs, but soon Naruto found that he needed to get home, to eat and sleep so that he could train again the next day.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The rising sun streamed through the open window. Sunlight flowed from the outside world and fell upon an empty bed. The gentle singing of birds outside were accompanied by light grunts as a small figure was finishing his morning exercises.  
  
  
  
Quickly walking to the fridge, Naruto licked his brushed teeth and made himself breakfast. Looking into the fridge, he frowned slightly as he took out what he needed. There was little left since he ate most of what he had last night. These exercises seemed costly as his food expenses suddenly exploded after a long day's training session.  
  
  
  
Eating his morning meal, Naruto thought upon what he had been recently doing. It seemed as if he was making leaps and bounds with his body, but he wasn't sure. He needed to continue his training if he was to ever achieve anything.  
  
  
  
Thinking about what to do on his third day, coming to the simple decision that he would continue with the rock exercises when something hit him…  
  
  
  
Third day.  
  
  
  
His clothes were done!  
  
  
  
Taking a deep breath, Naruto quickly finished his meal and then proceeded to wash his used dishes. Taking up only a quarter of an hour, the dishes were cleaned and drying on a simple rack beside the sink as he left the house and headed for the odd tailor's store.  
  
  
  
The market was much the same and Naruto quickly found himself buying extra groceries as he had more or less cleaned himself out last night and this morning. With two full bags of goodies, Naruto then found himself at Tal's store.  
  
  
  
Backing his way into the shop, Naruto noticed the 'Closed' sign was still on as the door as it swung open but he ignored it as he felt that Tal was expecting him. Which Tal was, as he sat on the front counter waiting with a cat like smile.  
  
  
  
"It is complete." Tal stated simply as he took Naruto's two bags and setting them on the countertop and dragging Naruto towards the back of the shop.  
  
  
  
Passing by many stands that had a simple hook were a set or a set in progress of clothes stood, Naruto saw the many varieties of clothing that people liked. It was a rather large shop, he decided as he followed Tal through the back of the shop, were the majority of the store's space rested.  
  
  
  
Coming to a stop at the very end, Tal then presented a changing booth were he then proceeded to order Naruto to enter and undress to his skivvies and try on the set of clothing within.  
  
  
  
Not wanting to argue with the man less he started to spout out odd phrases, Naruto did as was asked and undressed to his trunks. Laying the clothes aside, Naruto then saw two sets of clothing before him. Tal then ordered him to wear the set of clothing on the left hand side first. The first was a set of fishnet undergarments that looked awfully tight.   
  
  
  
Picking up the garments, Naruto experimentally stretched them and was surprised to find that they easily stretched and felt feather light and silk soft. Putting them on, Naruto was surprised to find them extremely snug and as he traced a finger over his arm, he was also surprised at how sensitive his skin still was. It was as if this set of clothing had become one with his skin.  
  
  
  
Then he looked to his right and his heart skipped a beat as his mind stopped thinking for a brief second as he took in what lay before him. It was a simple two set piece of clothing. The two pieces of clothing were both a ruby red so dark it boarded on black, or dark blood…  
  
  
  
The pants seemed either slightly too long or too short but shrugging, Naruto tried them on and was surprised that they were not only a perfect fit, they were also a perfect cut as the pants clung to his waist yet was very lightweight and baggy. Ending at his ankles, they wouldn't impede his walking and looked very stylish.  
  
  
  
Then picking up the jacket, he simply slipped it on and was once again amazed. The fabric felt soft, even through his first layer of clothing and slid over his skin and fell snuggly into place. The jacket was of the same quality as his pants. It hugged his frame, though left enough room to be baggy yet was exactly cut to his body size and length.  
  
  
  
Looking down, Naruto was also surprised to see a set of shoes waiting for him. They were exactly the same style as his other set, yet seemed finer as it was the same color as his clothes. Putting them on, he felt no surprise as the lack of weight, or the snugness of the fit.  
  
  
  
Walking out, Tal's eyes seemed to melt with content as he raised his hands into the air, threw back his head and screamed out a single word.  
  
  
  
"PERFECTION!!!!"  
  
  
  
Hopping on his toes as he switched from one foot to the other, Naruto couldn't help but stare in awe at Tal. He felt as light as a feather and as he tried out a few punches of kicks, he found that his clothes moved fluidly with his body, scything through the wind with ease, creating no drag or such as it fluttered slightly in the trailing air.  
  
  
  
"What do you think? Uzumaki Naruto?" Tal asked in a worried tone.  
  
  
  
"It's… It's… Perfect…" Naruto stammered out and Tal then let loose a vicious smile of superiority.  
  
  
  
"Of course! I crafted your clothes from the finest material, weaving the threads and then weaving the clothes. It took me three straight days of work and skill. Never before have I crafted such perfect so quickly! The gods were with me these last few days, granting me their strength to weave perfection that was meant to be!" Tal stated in slight awe as he lead Naruto back to the front of the store, carrying a small bag that contained Naruto's old clothes.  
  
  
  
Standing at the front of the store, Naruto felt the stares of others who could only gape at his clothes.  
  
  
  
"Here you go Naruto. Safe journey home. Should your clothes ever need repair or such, please hurry back. Now I must go, I haven't slept or ate in the last three days and I feel very weary. So long!" Tal stated in a blur as he handed Naruto his groceries and the bag with his old clothes as he disappeared back into his store.  
  
  
  
Blinking, Naruto stopped for a few moments before he bowed towards Tal and his skills. Then straightening, he began to walk home to sort out his food and lay to rest his old clothes.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The weeks seemed to melt away as Naruto continued with this own training, sometimes pushing his body forward through will alone. He began to suspect that he was slowly getting stronger but he shrugged off those very thoughts. Until he could fight, he would never truly know how far he had come since the days of his childhood.  
  
  
  
The training then began to change after the third day as he continued to use rocks as weights. The training then slowly shifted towards chakra training as the need for heavier weights became quickly apparent.  
  
  
  
He was strong enough now to effortlessly use those small rocks that he had during the second day, but now he needed heavier ones, but he couldn't just simply pick up bigger rocks as they didn't fit will within his hands or around his legs.  
  
  
  
The use of cords or string was out of the question after he tried it once on that fourth day. The rocks rarely fit well and didn't keep up properly as they flailed about, sailing through the air and either off the cords into the distance or painfully into his side.  
  
  
  
Your moving too quickly brat. Make the rocks tighter. the fox's voice stated blandly out of nowhere.  
  
  
  
"What do you mean tighter!?!?" Naruto screamed out loud to himself in surprise, but there was no answer. Gritting his teeth as he mumbled curses, he frowned as he thought on how he could tighten the rocks together.  
  
  
  
The original string theory was out of the question, as he knew he couldn't make then tight enough for what he guessed the fox within him would consider tight. Thinking on how to proceed, Naruto blinked as it hit him! He remembered something! It was during a time when he learnt how to climb a tree! Though the memory was foggy, the training was clear in his mind.  
  
  
  
He could pool chakra to a limb and have it stick to something. If he tried the same thing with rocks, perhaps he could have them stick together making allowances for heavier weights and having them become tighter!  
  
  
  
Grinning as he picked up his original rock, Naruto concentrated on his hand, allowing chakra to pool within his palms as he held the rock upright in his hand. Then slowly, ever so slowly he turned his hand downwards and watched as the rock stick for all of half a second before it fell onto the grass below.  
  
  
  
Letting loose an annoyed sigh, Naruto felt that it was going to take hours to learn the intricacies of rock holding. However, within an hour he had it. It had taken some thought but if he had just pooled enough, the rock stuck to his skin as though they were one.  
  
  
  
Then came the challenge of sticking yet another rock to his palms, but that was easily solved as after another hour of trials before Naruto figured out how to make them stick. All it took was small efforts of concentration at two points on his palms.  
  
  
  
Pleased with his accomplishments, Naruto repeated his feat with his other hand and after a few tests of waving his hands before him, seeing as how no rocks dropped, he began his exercise at were he left off the previous day.  
  
  
  
Throwing his first quick and powerful palm strike with his right arm, he couldn't exactly close his fists properly, Naruto watched in silence as both rocks flew outwards and landed before the grand tree.  
  
  
  
Silence hung in the air as Naruto let loose an exasperated sigh. He had suddenly understood what went wrong the moment he saw his two stones fly off. He had them at a good grip, a good grip for simply holding them while at ease. If he were to do anything fancier, he would have to restart at the basics, again…  
  
  
  
"All there is… is basics Naruto. Remember this as you travel down these paths were only warriors walk…" the shadowed figure quoted at the edge of his mind's vision.  
  
  
  
With a small sigh, Naruto picked up his rocks and began to do simple strikes, straight from the basics of day one….  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The training continued but as much as Naruto tried to ignore his progress outside of training, he couldn't stop everything. His morning and evening exercises were longer as the annoying fox within his head kept adding small things that he swore were only added to annoy him. But he always finished his exercises within two hours.  
  
  
  
He also began to bring food with him while he trained as he no longer stopped with the setting sun but continued under the soothing moonlight. He had progressed with his weight training dramatically. He had progressed from the basics of punches and kicks into more complex and fancy techniques.  
  
  
  
With three palms sized, oval rocks sitting beside each other on his hands, lining up from the base of his palms and ending at his fingertips, they added considerable weight to his arms. He had also begun to keep four similar rocks around each leg as to keep him fairly weighted down while he practiced.  
  
  
  
There were always fourteen rocks on him at any given moment, whether he concentrated on hands or legs or both, he always had them on so that he could become used to the exertions and concentrations of keeping so many rocks attached to his body as he moved about in a quick pace.  
  
  
  
He had also begun to run through the forest itself. Moving as quickly as he possibly could while keeping the rocks in place. Soon he found that he was able to run through the forest like a free wind, moving as he pleased and only stopping whenever a rock fell off or he nearly passed out from exhaustion.  
  
  
  
The voice of the strange person that always seemed to give him advice cropped up more often as he plowed through his training. He was always there to give out some odd quote or question whenever he was confused or when his spirits bordered on breaking. Naruto himself had come to acknowledge them as distant memories, the feeling of déjà vu was always there with the stranger and the knowledge that he had survived through them gave him strength. He would become as strong as he felt he once was and find his lost memories.  
  
  
  
It was those thoughts that formed the foundation of his second week of training as he continued to perform the same exercises until his muscles became stronger and his mind and body more fluid.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It was in the end of the third week however, that stopped his training. Naruto had begun to feel disgruntled with his training. He had moved up a few steps, having a second set of rocks on top of his originals and he had progressed to a point were he could move as freely as he could near the start of his training, proving that fact that he had come far.  
  
  
  
However, his training was beginning to stagnate, as he no longer made leaps and bounds in his training. He could train all year and most likely stay more or less the same. He needed a different type of training method or such if he was to attain more strength.  
  
  
  
With the steep training that he had immersed himself in, Naruto also began to have random flashes of bits and pieces of his past. Often, they were about training or to his surprise, death. Many of his visions with combat came to him while he slept, his mind showing him things that he never thought he could have accomplish, replacing his dreams with what he felt was fact.  
  
  
  
But those with training interested him, as he knew his body could perform those unique techniques. All he needed was for his mind to know that as well. So within the third week, Naruto found a small nest of boulders within the forest were he began to imitate what he saw in those visions of his unknown past.  
  
  
  
While at the nest of boulders he began to try to imitate a single strike that he saw many times in his dreams. It was a swift kick filled with energy that shattered stone and rock, crushed flash and bones. All he knew was that it involved a simplistic kick that had was done while airborne.  
  
  
  
So for almost the full week he jumped around the rocks, kicking at them as he empowered his attacking leg with as much power as he could muster. All that came out however, was a lot of jumping and kicking that barely chipped away rock.  
  
  
  
It was at the end of the sixth day however, that his mysterious stranger spoke to him again. "Ha ha ha ha. Still trying that out Naruto? The way your proceeding is almost right but incorrect. You need to focus much more and you must visualize what you want done. Your leg must become like a unstoppable sword that cuts all in its path!" his teacher stated as the shadow of his body moved and in one deft strike, shattered a boulder that was at least three times the man's size.  
  
  
  
So for the seventh and last day of the third week, Naruto attempted to emulate what he had seen. Focus. He focused what he considered focused chackra to his attacking leg as he continued to lash out with kicks as he visualized the boulder's shattering destruction. But it never worked.  
  
  
  
In a fit of pure anger at himself for not being able to do what he knew he should have been able to do, he let his mind loose in a fit of rage and lashed out.  
  
  
  
There was a muffled explosion of shattering rocks that rained over the small nest of boulders as a light haze of dust filled the air. A resounding cry of 'Sword!' echoed through Naruto's mind and the surrounding forest, echoing until he realized that it was his own voice that had yelled out, and it was his own attack that broke the boulder before him…  
  
  
  
As though a falling star streaked through the night sky, a memory stirred from slumber. Naruto had had a revelation…  
  
  
  
Blinking, he looked down at his leg and as if seeing the limb for the first time… Naruto suddenly knew what he had been doing wrong. Focus. He wasn't focusing properly. He had the power, the speed and potential, but he lacked the focus to draw them all together.  
  
  
  
Suddenly it seemed as if all his weeks of training had instantaneously paid off within a single moment. It was as if he had trained his body for this moment, and exercised his chakra so that he could focus it perfectly for the single jutsu, Sword…  
  
  
  
The final few hours were spent demolishing the last few boulders into nice little clumps of stone, pebbles and dust. Everywhere he looked laid the remains of a shattered boulder and a thin film of dust covered everything. Everything but his clothes that Tal had weaved for him.  
  
  
  
Leaning against half of a surviving boulder, Naruto blinked as he looked up at the clouded sky, watching the giant fluffs of white slowly make their way across the sky. The entire horizon above the forest was a beautiful autumn red.  
  
  
  
There was anything but silence in the air as birds chirped merrily in the background and the wind began to sing its melody through the forest once again as day began to settle into night.  
  
  
  
With his back against the half-boulder, Naruto sat on the grass, his right legged propped up with his left lazily stretched out before him. His right arm rested on his knee as he gazed towards the setting sun. His left arms hung limp beside him, his fingers gently caressing the cool grass beneath him…  
  
  
  
It was more of a feeling then anything else that told him someone was near. When followed his instincts and looked up, he saw an overhanging branch that there was someone on it. He felt no fear, no surprise as he let loose a lazy grin. He had felt the person closing in, though he knew not how he knew, he was sure his instincts knew what they were doing as they traced the person above him.  
  
  
  
He had touched a part of his past today and he was content. So when the Anbu spoke up to follow in a monotone yet slightly feministic voice, Naruto found himself more then happy to comply.  
  
  
  
The Anbu then jumped off the tree-branch and began to lead Naruto on a path back to the village. So began their long walk home. They said nothing as the Anbu lead the way at a brisk pace, weaving through everything with the ease of experience and lithe body.  
  
  
  
Naruto on the other hand stayed quiet as he felt it rude to suddenly break silence with no reason. The person before moved gracefully and, had quickly realized the person was a she, seemed slightly familiar in some odd way. Sure she wore the same ink marked masked as the people he had seen when he had first awoken a few weeks back. But there was something more, something about her in general that seemed familiar.  
  
  
  
He wasn't able to get a good look at her mask but he becoming more confident that she was the same person that he had seen when he first woke up. However, it didn't matter and Naruto dropped the subject immediately. He didn't want to pry and she seemed rather busy to be talking with the likes of him.  
  
  
  
Instead, he concentrated on how content and good he felt at the moment. This had to be the happiest day in his life, as he felt content like never before. He had touched his past and with it, took one small step closer to knowing who he was…  
  
  
  
A low flying, small bird glided through the air when it suddenly felt something strange. Following its instincts, it changed directions and flew by a tree, spotting two odd animals trudging through the forest as the sun was setting.  
  
  
  
Flying in closer, the bird panicked for a moment. These types of animals were seen before! The community always went up into a set gossip whenever they were around, telling what they were doing and were they were going.  
  
  
  
Instincts told it that it should fly away and quickly tell others that the two-legged creatures in odd furs were back, moving through the forest… But there was a sense of calm that radiated from the smaller of the two… the on that was behind the taller.  
  
  
  
Ignoring its instincts, the bird felt compelled to tell the serene one that night was falling, that it was most dangerous during this time. Gliding in it watched as the serene one paused and stopped as it glided nearer and tilted it wings, allowing the air to slow itself down so that it could gently land on the serene one's shoulder.  
  
  
  
Blinking Naruto watched in mute fascination as a small brown bird glided onto his shoulder and began to talk to him. It chirped away on how the night was quickly approaching and how he, the serene one, should quickly move to his own nest were it would be safest before full dark set in. It said that it was in a rush and that time was very short. Everything changed once night set in and unless he could fly just above the trees, he would be in grave dangers.  
  
  
  
Then as quickly as it came, the bird flew off, feeling much better at having told the serene one about the dangers of the night. Flapping its wings quickly, the bird hovered into the air as its wings pumped, bringing itself upwards with each stroke. Trilling out a simple goodbye, the bird flew into the trees and quickly headed home.  
  
  
  
Smiling himself, Naruto couldn't help but feel touched that such a small and innocent bird would go out of its way to warn him of the dangers of the night… but he had already encountered a few of them. They didn't pose too much of a problem but the bird didn't know and he didn't feel like telling them about this late night ventures in the forest.  
  
  
  
Turning around, Naruto blinked once as he stared at the dimming light around himself. The night was settling in and a comfortable bed awaited him at home…  
  
  
  
The Anbu on the other hand was interested if not surprised at what had just happened. The small woodjeek birds of Konoha Forest was anything but social and to her knowledge, Naruto had no training of any sort that would allow him to communicate with any animals that couldn't speak on their own...  
  
  
  
This was interesting information indeed and she tucked away the small information that she had just seen for herself. She would report to the Fifth immediately. It seemed that somewhere between his coma and his recent self, Naruto had gained new skills in both taijutsu, as the newly shattered rocks proved, and ninjutsu that allowed him to communicate with at least woodjeek birds.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Tsunade frowned at the piece of paper that was given to her scant minutes ago. It was notes from an allied village… were three of her elite chunnins had been killed while on a simple errand for the village… plus they were killed outright, making it a very mysterious situation…  
  
  
  
What was strange was the fact that they were all killed in a single fight… they were the only casualties meaning that either the attackers had numerous numbers or that the attackers were highly skilled… or both…  
  
  
  
This was an annoying mystery that had to be solved. She couldn't drop the fact that Konoha ninjas were killed until either the cause was discovered and the proper actions taken.  
  
  
  
Thinking on the subject a bit more, Tsunade decided that it would be foolish to act unless she had more information. Calling out to one of her Anbu aids, she ordered that a list of elite Anbu be brought to her quickly. Perhaps she could release a small group into the area and both learn what they can of the attackers and reason for the attack.  
  
  
  
So far, Konoha was recovering quickly from their last battle were still strong enough to carry out every mission asked of them. The proud ninjas of Konoha Village still worked diligently at their assigned missions in order to support the recovery of their home.  
  
  
  
However, what had been on her mind recently was simply Naruto. He had changed a great deal since the coma. He no longer had the fiery flare of life in his personality. He acted more like an Anbu in the aspect of his calm and patient actions.  
  
  
  
The fact that he didn't remember anything after the age of ten was odd, as he could recall information from his childhood yet nothing after a certain age… she had been pondering on the facts for many days now, thinking on the subject whenever she could.  
  
  
  
She had quickly concluded that this was very close to what she had dubbed, 'Naruto's Original Personality' that was him during his childhood as from her brief probes, she found that he knew little of things such as family, love or even companionship.  
  
  
  
Calling on her status as Hokage, she had quickly learnt of Naruto's childhood and was saddened at what she had discovered. Until Naruto's third genin exam, he had no friends or anything that could even be stretched to grudging acceptance of equality. He had always been looked upon as an inferior and a monster.  
  
  
  
The factors of his childhood quickly accounted for his withdrawn personality and controlled actions, but that didn't help at all as she honestly had no clue as how to approach this problem.  
  
  
  
She knew amnesia was something that more or less had to be cured on its own, unless she used forbidden jutsu's that only had a risky chance for little success, or she could try to introduce Naruto to people he once knew, hoping for a reaction that would trigger memories that could cause a chain reaction within the mind, showing Naruto who he really once was…  
  
  
  
Or everything that she had been thinking about was completely futile and was a complete waste of her time as she should just leave Naruto alone and allow him to recover on his own. After all, didn't Naruto recover on his own when Kabuto snapped the chackra cord to his heart, essentially killing the young boy? Yet he had recovered!  
  
  
  
Folding up the note, Tsunade let loose a sigh as she placed it on the table before her as she got up and stretched. These problems with Naruto were largely out of her control and she had very little knowledge on how to deal with him.  
  
  
  
Today would be the final day of the third week since she had released Naruto back into the outside world. She had seen no reason for him to stay locked up in the hospital so she had let him return to his home with brief instructions and tidbits of information on his past. She had hoped that by doing so, it would allow Naruto to see the city through unclouded eyes and thus hoping that it would trigger some memory of who he really was.  
  
  
  
Today he would be brought back to her and she would have a chance to examine him. Perhaps he had already discovered who he was? Or perhaps he was still clueless to who he once was…  
  
  
  
There was a gentle knock at her door.  
  
  
  
Knowing full well at whom it was, Tsunade sat back down as she stated aloud that the person could enter.  
  
  
  
The girl, Shiki, her handpicked Anbu for watching over Naruto gracefully stepped in with a surprising young man in tow. Wearing clothes that bordered on either black or dark blood red, the young man that entered seemed almost the same as the person who had awoken three weeks ago. Minus the fact that the young man before her seemed very calm and sure of himself then he was when he awoke.  
  
  
  
"So, Naruto-kun. How your life here at Konoha village? Are you comfortable? Is there anyplace that stirs up memories for you? People that you may recognize?" Tsunade asked in a torrent with a simple smile as she studied Naruto's face.  
  
  
  
"I am fine and well. The village seems like a nice place. I still don't recognize anyone." Naruto replied back calmly. He wasn't sure what to make of his stay here truthfully as everyone seemed to dislike him, but he was, in truth, comfortable. He didn't particularly care for the people. He only cared about food, sleep, training and the quest to find out about his past. Everything else seemed irrelevant.  
  
  
  
Tsunade pursed her lips for a moment but then quickly brightened as she came to a conclusion. "Naruto-kun. I am going to introduce you to a few of your fellow genins within the next few days. They are originally among the same group of people who passed with you during the genin test you took almost a year back now… do you have any qualms about meeting them?  
  
Blinking at the names, Naruto felt troubled as he sensed that he should know the names, yet he did not. "No, I would be pleased to meet them." Naruto answered with his calm voice, a sense of deeply ingrained etiquette guiding his voice.  
  
"Good!" Tsunade replied happily aloud as she walked up to him with a folded piece of paper in her hand. Stopping in front of him, she unfolded the small piece of paper and read it aloud.   
  
"You, Uzumaki Naruto, are henceforth reinstated into Team 7 along with the genins Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Jounin leader, Hatake Kakashi. And you shall be joining them on their next few missions." She finished cheerfully, secretly hoping that the meeting and interaction between Naruto and people from his past would restore his long lost memories.  
  
"Team 7 should be arriving tomorrow afternoon. Around 2 pm. Please be at home as I will be sending someone to pick you up. As of tomorrow, you will once again be helping Konoha village as apart of Team 7." Tsunade finished as she folded up the piece of paper and handed it to Naruto.  
  
Gently taking the piece of paper, Naruto tucked it away to look at later. He was hungry and wanted to go home. "Tomorrow at 2 pm then." Naruto repeated as she asked for leave and was excused to go home.  
  
Watching as the Anbu lead Naruto out so that he could go home, Tsunade quietly walked back to her table and sat down, pondering on what could happen after Naruto was reunited with his team… Team 7 was scheduled to arrive at 11 am tomorrow but she wanted time to at least brief Kakashi on the current situation with the young boy.  
  
There was also the problems of the recent Anbu deaths and she couldn't just send anyone to investigate as it would rouse suspicion of the Leaf's current strength. So she needed to send skilled ninjas under a pretense of something else…  
  
There was a polite knock on her door and at her approval the door slid open to reveal a serious looking ninja. He was youthful looking even though he was past his fifties. An air of calmness surrounded him even as he did the simple task of closing the door behind him.  
  
Smiling, Tsunade motioned for the man to sit down before her. "Ah Jiraiya! Your just the person I was looking for…" the Fifth stated as a plan started to form in her head. A plan that was slightly risky, but perfect for what she intended. The mystery of the recent killings was soon going to end…  
  
The sound of falling water crashed through the air, filling it with its single existence. The light haze of water drifted around the base of the waterfall, making everything around it wet and cold. It was the dampness and crawling chill that forced a pair of silver eyes open.  
  
Groaning as his mind opened up to his body, allowing every single moment of pain to crash into his mind simultaneously, giving him a headache as his body screamed out bloody vengeance at the abuse it had received.  
  
Propping himself up, he brushed his hand through his hair as he focused on the pain, allowing it to flow through himself, waking up his trembling body.  
  
Looking up slowly, he allowed his eyes to adjust to the new light. It was bright but as his eyes focused, he suddenly sat upright. Everything around him was green and overgrown.  
  
He gently tasted the air, the sense of water and air filled his lungs as he took a tentative breath.  
  
Something was very wrong.  
  
There were signs of life here that he had not seen in decades while the air was pure and clean. There was no stench of death and decay no barren landscape or feelings of void around him.  
  
This meant that he was no longer home, but somewhere else. He was somewhere away from his clan, somewhere on a different world…  
  
Frowning he tried to remember what had happen last but he found it difficult. He was still too tired and as he looked down at his body, the angry red marks from countless wounds and cuts lined and crisscrossed over his flesh and bone…  
  
"Sleep now, master." a gentle voice soothingly whispered into his ear. "Rest, I shall watch over you."  
  
Blinking the man sighed, as he felt comforted. He needed sleep and this was also what the voice had suggested.  
  
Closing his eyes as he felt darkness tug at his mind, he sent out a single reply before he drifted away. The final words left his lips as his body went lip and he fell into a deep rhythm of breathing. "Thank you, Lady." The words drifted silently from his lips as a second presence snuggled around him and asserted itself into the environment.  
  
There was a wispy outline of a creature that resembled a fox with what seemed like nine tails. It hovered protectively above the sleeping body of a young man who had silver hair. Even as darkness fell, the fox watched the sleeping man as its very presence kept the wildlife at bay and deterred anything and everything from coming close.  
  
The creatures of the forest spared no glance at the creature by the waterfall, as they instinctively knew, that had they even approached to look from a distance. The odd creature would have stuck them down without a second thought. Only the most stupid of creatures would tempt fate as even those on top of the food chain quickly weaved around the area, their lives finding no need to tempt death.  
  
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Author's Corner!  
  
Hi Hi!  
  
I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter as it was scrapped off of nothing, nada, nil. Meaning that I, gasp! Waved my magic keyboard and POW! Instant chapter with words and pages and capitals… and… and… uhhh, the development of Uzumaki Naruto!  
  
Yes! I have been working on this and I also got a new job, so I now hate a third of my days and like 1/324 life! Or something like that =P  
  
A note from your author: 'Work Sucks!'  
  
But that's not something new so I'll complain to myself….  
  
Other then that, I have absolutely nothing to say. So those of you who had been expecting something witty… Bwahahahahahahha, I hope your disappointed!  
  
I, the un-witty author of these strange fics have in truth, no life! I also have No personality as I rot away in front of a computer at night and work by day!  
  
So if you in any way pity me, love my fics, hate/love my author's corner or breathe/eat/drool… Donate!  
  
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Red Howling Chapter 01 V1.01 


	3. Red Howling Chapter 02

Red Howling

Naruto / Other Fusion

By Perfect Psionic Soldier

Disclaimer: I do not own the various anime/manga thingies. The respective creators do. (I just pretend their mine ~_^)

Before you read on please note that some of this story and or wordings may not make sense to you but please bear with it, as it will become clearer as the story progresses from chapter to chapter.

If you have any questions that weren't answered however, then please send me an email, address given at the Author's Corner, and I will answer them to the best of my abilities.

Note: This takes place after volume 26+. Which means that I'm pretty darn far into the series and I hate it cause I can't get enough! So there are spoilers and the personality of the character Naruto is going to be changed as I more or less implement other anime stuff into this series! I like it! But that is just my opinion… Hope you Enjoy.

Chapter 02

Title: Chapter Two

The small house was silent except for the rhythmic sounds of strong fists striking quickly at the air. There in the center of the kitchen was a person following through with his morning physique.

A young man with blond hair stood shirtless as he preformed his morning exercises. His fists pounded against the small space of air before him, hammering it relentlessly as he continued the rhythm of his strikes, keeping it at a constant pace as he focused solely on a single strike at a time, though his fists quickly hammered the air.

His attacks were quick and deft, creating the most impact with the least movements. He had trained himself to recognize the workings of his body so that it could co-exist with his mind and soul. For only when they were one could he ever achieve the right to walk down the path of warriors that his half memories hinted at.

Finishing his punches with a final double strike with both fists, Naruto straightened his body as he drew his arms to his side. He held the pose for a mere few seconds before he allowed his body to relax while beads of sweat trailed down his body.

He wasn't by any means lean or muscular, but at least he was fit and able. With a sigh, Naruto turned his thoughts inward while he checked his mental list of exercises. Crossing off his final task, a three hundred punch set, Naruto heaved a sigh of relief as he realized that he was finally finished.

Walking off to the kitchen table, he picked up his cool glass of apple juice and downed it in a few gulps. Moving to the sink, he simply rinsed the used glass and set it on the dish rack to dry.

Returning to the kitchen table, he grabbed the simple folded parchment and unfolded it. What was written on the paper, were the names of three people and their portraits. Laying it down on the tabletop, Naruto scanned the faces and names of his new comrades as he started to pull on his jacket.

Scanning the first face showed a lazy looking man with his forehead protector drawn over his left eye as his lower half of his face was hidden from view under a mask. The name Hatake Kakashi was written under the portrait.

The second person was a young man with a cold and calm expression. He looked kind of cool with what seemed like a self-assured attitude. Neck length hair was about the only thing interesting to look at in the picture, expect for his dim smirk and what looked like intelligent eyes. The young man's name was Uchiha Sasuke.

The final person was a young lady with pink hair that went beyond her shoulder. She had what looked like a slightly big forehead and she had her forehead protector placed on top of her head, like a hair band of some sort. She had a look of an innocent girl with both happiness and confidence tugged at the rims of her eyes. Her name was Horuno Sakura.

A gentle knock on the door reminded him of his appointment. Looking at the picture was good enough, he guessed, but meeting them in person was most likely better.

Folding up the piece of paper and tucking it into the inner pocket of his jacket, Naruto then zipped up his front halfway as he went to put on his shoes. Taking a final look around the place he had learnt to call home, he then opened his front door and locking it behind him, leaving to meet the people he will come to call teammates.

Tsunade sat at her desk as she allowed Jiraiya to read over the recent reports of another small team recently killed, however this team was comprised of four Anbu. The four were killed in neutral territory, not even ten minutes away from Leaf's borders.

It seemed that the four were killed through physical combat and were finished off by a strong taijutsu. The imprint of the attacker's fists was marked on the bone structure at vital points. They apparently stood no chance.

If it wasn't for the fact that a small team of Jounins that were returning from a recently completed mission, the four might not have been noticed at all.

Setting the report on the desk, Jiraiya frown as he scanned the first few words again. "This is a bad sign. Especially since Konoha Village is still recovering. The loss of these four will impact us, but its more short term then it is in the long run…"

With her hands clasped before her and elbows resting on the desk, Tsunade let loose a sigh as she lowered her head onto her hands. "I know, I know. But what irks me is that those four were experienced shinobis. They must have known better then to stay and fight."

Jiraiya found himself nodding at the Fifth's words. He knew the four that died. They were anything but stupid and were in the superior B class, elites in their rankings. Not quite Jounin but very close.

"Then there are the three chuunins that were killed in another village…" Tsunade added in as she plopped her head onto her desk.

"So there is potential for yet another plot against our village. We must seem like ripe picking, especially so now as we barely have 60% of our forces active, meaning every ninja in the village is doing something… the other half dead…" Jiraiya stated as she finished the calculations in his head but he also knew something else. "Its Naruto isn't it?"

Raising her head in slight surprise, Tsuande frowned momentarily before she nodded once. "Yea. He's now awake, but he is completely different."

Raising an eyebrow, Jiraiya couldn't resist. "Different?"

Nodding once again, Tsunade explained. "Naruto woke up roughly a month ago, his condition went from the hopeless one that you left five weeks ago, due to an assassination mission, to miraculous recovery. However, he doesn't remember anything prior to the age of thirteen, and only the first seven to eight years are remembered clearly. He has regressed back to his original personality. Or that's what Ibiki Moriono says at any rate."

Jiraiya nodded as he took in the new information. "Heh that kid should know. He is a master at psychological warfare along with that torture and interrogation stuff. He has got some odd hobbies while growing up, but other then that, how is Naruto doing physically?"

Tilting her head, Tsunade let loose a wry grin. "He came out of that coma in an unusual fashion, he is stronger physically then when he went in… He can move faster, is stronger and has a far better stamina then ever. I also heard that after he came out of his coma he went directly into training. My Anbu said that Naruto is far stronger then he was eleven months ago… and… there is something else…"

"Something else?" Jiraiya asked with a raised eyebrow that quickly expanded as his face went white with shock with what Tsunade stated next…

Naruto stared at the afternoon sun as he trailed after his Anbu escort. The world was bright outside. It never ceased to amaze him it seemed. He always found himself staring that the scenery in awe, as though he had been away in a desolate land for so long that life like this was almost unimaginable…

Shaking his head, Naruto momentarily felt images cloud his eyes. Places here and there. Everlasting scars of countless battles marred the desolate land. The images brought forth feelings of longing as his heart yearned for what he felt was… was it… home?

Shaking his head once again, Naruto took a deep breath as the images faded. His heart slowing down to a gentle rhythm as he reviewed what he had seen. Why did his heart yearn for that desolate place? Why did he call it home? Why?

Looking up, Naruto blinked as he noticed that his Anbu guide had stopped and was currently looking at him expectantly.

With a reassuring smile, he instead shrugged off his thoughts and worries as he moved forward. If it were something important, then he would remember. There was no point in making his guide wait anyways. After all, he had plenty of time, right?

"Are you sure?" Jiraiya stated in wide eye shock. "The seal is gone?"

Tsunade nodded solemnly as she locked her gaze with his. "I am positive. I did a few tests with the more specialized Jounins and its all been concluded. Naruto has lost the seal that withheld the Nine Tails Fox Demon…"

"But how can this be!" the senin asked in shock and frustration. "No one should be able to undo that seal unless they know how to also perform it. It took the Fourth ten months to even master that sealing method…"

"I don't know. We all don't. For the entire duration, Naruto was placed under strict surveillance and move to the outer detention center. Other then a few jounins, elite Anbu, you and myself, we should be the only ones with the information about Naruto." Tsunade answered in a tired voice. She had been very busy as of late. It had been barely over two years and it seemed as though everyone wanted to pick on her village…

There was a knock on the doors and with a prompt answer, the doors opened and allowed the person in. The two legendary ninjas looked up to see who had entered.

Walking in at a leisurely pace was a ninja wearing a facemask while he had his left eye covered with his forehead protector. Stopping in front of the desk, his face lit up in a small smile. "You summoned me, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, yes I have. Do you have any idea why?" Tsunade asked as she got up from her desk and shuffled around a few pieces of paper.

"Uh… could it be about Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he remembered hearing something about his young student as he passed the hallways. Something about being awake for some time now.

"Exactly. I guess you heard it shortly after you returned. Naruto is now awake and you have to know a few things. First is that he has changed and has absolutely no recollection of the last three years of his life. He doesn't really remember anything before his first genin exam and that was a long ways off."

Blinking, Kakashi simply nodded, as he was unsure of what to make of the information. He was glad that his student was all right, but hearing that Naruto had amnesia was something of a disappointment.

Was Naruto even to be reassigned to him? Or was he going to be placed in a special training camp to relearn lost knowledge? But then again, it was Naruto, maybe lost uhhh… blinking, Kakashi cautiously wondered what Naruto would relearn, other then a few jutsu and kage bushin, there wasn't much that Naruto knew…

"He is being reassigned to you." Jiraiya stated bluntly as Tsunade searched around her desk with a slight frown. "He might remember things more clearly if he is by his former teammates. And there is something else."

"Something else?" Kakashi asked as he raised his one visible eyebrow.

"If what I hear is correct, Naruto has regressed mentally, meaning that he will act differently and see things differently. I was told he has regressed back to his original personality. So don't be too surprised if he acts in a completely different fashion." Jiraiya concluded as Tsunade gave her desk an evil glare, her hands quickly flipping through a rather large stack of papers.

"Another thing. Though we don't know how…" Jiraiya said in a serious tone, catching Kakashi's full attention. "Naruto no longer seems to have the seal on him anymore, meaning that the fox demon could already be free. Though nothing has happened, be cautious. He went into the coma as Naruto and came out differently…"

Kakashi's eyes widened but he kept his mouth shut. If Jiraiya and Tsunade, two of the legendary ninja's didn't know, then it was safe to guess that most shinobis wouldn't have a clue either. The following missions with Naruto could be more dangerous to themselves then not. But what Jiraiya said at the end bothered him. "Differently?"

"He might have come out stronger then when he went in. How? I honestly don't know, but be sure to keep a closer eye on him." Jiraiya finished as he scanned the paper piled desk that Tsunade was currently digging through. He didn't know what she was looking for and he felt like he didn't want to know…

"Naruto is going to rejoin the team today at your usual meeting spot. One of my Anbu is currently escorting him to the location and I have no doubts that the rest of the team is already on there way to go waiting for you. So you are dismissed. You are to continue with your current mission today, Naruto's presence is irrelevant." Tsuande stated busily as she rummaged through her third stack of papers.

With a respectful bow, Kakashi turned to leave and Jiraiya was about to get up when Tsunade clamped her hands onto his shoulder. "Now you, frog boy, are going to help me sort these out, lest I tell the women folk of Konoha that your in town, again. Lets not have a repeat of last time, eh?"

Thinking back to the last time the women knew of his presence, Jiraiya smiled faintly and nodded. "I'd love to help you, Hokage-sama."

With a bright and cheerful smile, Tsunade made a cut in the air and sweeping her hand across the left side of the desk, towards Jiraiya. "Good! This half is yours!"

Closing the door, Kakashi couldn't help but smile. He remembered the last time the women knew that legendary sennin was around. They started an Anti-Lecher campaign and began a village wide manhunt. Jiraiya had then quickly left on an important mission the hour after the women began their campaign.

The trees stood steadily against the wind as their leaves fluttered. The rising sun was still moving towards noon, casting a bright and cheerful light on everything under the blue skies.

Continuing after the Anbu, Naruto had his hands in his pant's pockets as he trailed after his escort. He honestly had no clue were he was supposed to meet his teammates but he was glad that someone was showing him the way.

Walking along the park pathway, Naruto found himself gazing around himself in wonder. Everything seemed to have a color scheme and this scheme was green. Everywhere he looked was green. Green grass, green leaves, hack there was green moss on a few rocks that littered the around the sides of the pathway. No matter how many times he saw this, it still awed him at the vibrant signs of life that existed all around him.

He found himself smiling as he saw a few birds glide by, their wings stiff as they glided from tree to grass, using their beaks to peck at something, maybe food, or twigs. The sounds of life were hanging in the air as they chirped. There were even a few squeaks as a furry rodent, he would later remember as a squirrel, scurried up and down the trees.

Turning his attention back to the Anbu in front of him, Naruto briefly wondered if the person also felt such elation at seeing all this life. Or was there some ignorance at the beauty around them? He knew that some things could be taken for granted, but he also knew that they would realize the importance of their surroundings if they just vanished.

Thinking inwards, he wondered if he himself was taking something for granted. He quickly found himself drawing a blank. He was admiring the life around him, so he recognized nature. He never had friends or comrades, at least people that he remembered. And he never had family, so he had never ever touched the odd bond called love…

Thinking on the subject, Naruto felt a small bout of depression wash over him, the world suddenly seemed a bit darker as his cheerful smile wilted to a frown. Love. What was that? He knew it was something that many people prized and have felt, but him? Nope. He had never known the heart of family or the touch of even respect.

The sad feelings then began to claw at his eyes, making him narrow his view as he continued to wonder what was his purpose here? Why did he become a ninja? Did he even have goals or dreams?

He felt empty, as though only a void existed within his body, mind and soul.

But then a memory returned.

The shadowed stranger laughing with cheer as he performed his newly acquired 'Sword' technique. There had been a smile there, though he never noticed until now. The man seemed to know him, and… and Naruto's eyes widened as something dawned on him. The man knew him and… and…

A memory surfaced. A large circle drawn in the dirt. His body battered and bruised. His position was that of defeat, his knees on the ground and the only reason he was still slightly upright was because of his right arm, his left broken and useless. Yet, before him stood that shadowed figure, a mocking grin on his face, arms outstretched. "Today you have lost, tomorrow is still yours for the taking." The figure stated warmly as he grabbed his good hand and helped him up. They were warm hands and the man's eyes… his eyes were filled with…

Breaking out of his trance, Naruto wiped away a tear as it began to slide down his cheek. He smiled once again. He remembered those moments, of the many different scenes. Yet they were all the same, the same victor, the same words, and, and the same eyes. Warm eyes that held only acceptance and something more…

Looking up at the bright blue sky bathed under the warm sunlight, Naruto blinked as he gazed at the greenery once again. A memory? It was a simple memory, yet it meant so much. "I wish to know who you are…" Naruto stated solemnly as he slowed down for a few moments to stop a few more tears from overpowering him.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Naruto then blinked away the last of his tears as he quickly began to move forward. His guide was still waiting for him and if his tears were noticed or not, the Anbu did not give a hint of knowledge nor care.

With his hands in his pockets, Naruto smiled as he walked under a large tree and crossed through the shade. A dream? He had discovered one now. He wanted to know the person who was still a shadow to him. The person that he held in high regards and respect, but most importantly, this was a person who accepted him.

Though it was for a briefest of moments, the darkness around him lightened for a moment, and he almost forgot the void that resided within.

The numbness that surrounded his arms did not change. It never did. Ever since that last battle with the third, his arms had remained the same. True he had defeated the greatest of the five kage leaders of the hidden shinobi world, but the trade off was immense.

He had lost the usage of both his arms, rendering him almost completely useless. Of course he could still fight and undoubtedly be on par with perhaps a jounin or even two, but that was pushing his current limits. Limits that shouldn't even exist!

It wasn't the fact that he lost the usage of his arms that annoyed him. It was the fact that he had lost the usage of over ninety percent of his justsus! That fact alone angered him above all his previous losses.

However, that would soon change. He would regain his former powers and gain the strength to surpass all those he previously knew.

Standing in front of a large stone statue of a giant snake, Orochimaru blinked once as he found himself staring into the statues eyes. Even from his rather limited knowledge of gems, he found it easy to identify the blood rubies that were embedded as the snake's eyes. The size of most large boulders, the rubies gave off a sinister feeling.

He was tiny compared to the immensity of this single stone carving. It was painfully obvious that this statue was carved with the greatest care, even though it didn't resemble a snake type that he was familiar with.

For one thing, there were spikes jetting out along the entire snake's backside. And its scales had an unusual pattern to them. They were like triangles with the edges pushed inwards, forming unique pattern as it stretched across its skin. Though this creature was made of stone it was flawlessly duplicated.

All around him was strewn jewels of gold and silver. Piles of coins littered around the statue with ancient markings on them. The coins were old, very old, but from what period, even he did not know. But it was safe to say that this statue was around for far longer then anyone could ever guess.

He had seen this snake many times. It haunted his dreams with its overbearing voice. It was a powerful voice that shook with supremacy and left him to wake up trembling.

Set. That was the voice's name as he had learnt. And it promised him power in exchange for his loyalty. It promised vengeance in turn for deaths. He would serve this spirit as he felt the truth to its words. His arms were promised to be unsealed. All he would have to do is allow this spirit into his body. He would then gain access to its knowledge and skills. He would take a step closer to becoming the greatest.

If Set was a summoning gone wrong, then Orochimaru did not care, nor did he mind. This was a creature that radiated power from just its Image. Power. This was true power that he could not claim anywhere else or through anyone else.

All that Set asked of him was obedience and the usage of his body. Set had shown him a few skills that he himself did not know even existed! He now had a simple strike that would allow him to kill an opponent through even a barrier of solid stone. It was extremely complex but he had mastered it, he had used it on three simple leaf chuunins a few days ago. They were simply obliterated while he stood three feet away from them. It was so easy.

He knew the truth of Set's words and thus began to hunt for the snake's tomb. His elite aid, Kabuto was the one to find it and bringing his old body, as Set had instructed, as he now stood in front of the tomb of Set.

It laid before him now, his old set of eyes closed in eternal slumber. He had Kabuto bring it and lay it before him before he was ordered to depart and guard the entrance. They were alone out here, as the need for the rest of his jounins did not exist since they were busy preparing for a very special war.

He did not know the reason for the presence his old body, but he had kept it safely tucked away in a sealed room. It still existed in case he had need for it again and for his foresight he was rewarded with its need.

"Young Snake! You have come!" a voice boomed through the giant cavern as an immense presence smashed into his body. It took all his will power to not crumble to his knees. Muscles straining, he finally won as the presence withdrew itself.

Eyes glowing, the stone snake seemingly looked down upon him. The statue itself felt alive as chakra radiated from within the snake's stone body.

Looking up with a ragged breath, Orochimaru suddenly found himself in a dangerous position. Set's presence alone seemed like more then enough power to snuff out his life. He was suddenly completely sure that even the Manda would have been defeated if Set so desired while sleeping within the stone statue.

Instead of worrying however, he stood straight and tall. He was a snake and thus could relate to this creature. "I have come. And as you have asked, I have brought my original form here. What do you wish of me, Set?" Orochimaru asked proudly, but humbly as he knew Set's displeasure would be profound and deadly to himself. It aggravated him that he was weaker but he was not so proud as to pass up an opportunity for greater power.

"You must submit unto me, as you would have your loyalist servants submit unto you. I am Set, one of the last of the Seconds. I have slept for centuries within this stone prison, searching for the perfect master. You young snake have much to grow, but you are qualified!" Set bellowed as chakra pushed Orochimaru back.

Fighting to stand upright, his eyes widened in awe at the simplicity of how Set had pushed him back with seemingly no effort. In the face of Set, he, Orochimaru, was complete and utterly inferior. And he could become this creature's master… a wicked grin began to tug at the edges of his mouth.

As though lit with passion, Orochimaru cried out in excitement. "What would you have me do to master your strengths and loyalty?"

"You must submit unto me as you would have others submit unto you." Set replied in a calmer voice. "You must return to your original form, for only there can you claim the strength of Set!"

"My original form? But why Set? It is old and dying! My current body is young and fresh!" the young man challenged as the ruby eyes of the snake glowed once again.

"Fool!" Set bellowed, his chakra rocking the cavern and knocking Orochimaru instantly off his feet and into the far wall along with his old body. "Your current body is youthful, yes, but it is inferior to the body of your old! You can never have the perfected unity of body and spirit in the host of another! For only in your original form can you surpass the limits of the flesh. No others!"

"Then, then what must I do, Set!" Orochimaru cried in return as he regained his footing.

"You must submit unto me, as you would have your loyalist servants submit unto you." Set replied once again.

"What does that mean? What will you have me do, Set!" Orochimaru screamed in return.

"Kneel before your body of old. And from there we shall join and begin the process of old. We will become one, young snake and you shall gain the powers of Set. With that, no one of this world will be able to stand again you, nor kill you!" Set stated with a calm voice once again as its eyes flashed crimson red with each sentence.

Kneeling in front of his old body, Orochimaru then stared defiantly at the stone statue and cried out. "I am ready, Set. Grant me the powers that I deserve!"

"As it should be!" Set bellowed as the ruby eyes cracked and shattered. From the moment of destruction, the stone statue bursted apart as a flow of chakra slammed into towards the far wall and connected the two bodes, moving one spirit from one form to the other.

In a flash of light, there was suddenly nothing in the cavern but melted rock and pools of gold and silver. At the far end of the cavern, stood a single solitary figure.

Standing, the figure then moved its arms and flexed its fingers before it let out a sinister howl of laughter as his he focused his chakra to his arm, creating a dark emerald green hue around his open, yet tense hands.

The laughter deepened into a crazed frenzy.

Silver eyes opened back to the light. For a few moments, there was no picture, no sound, but a dull soundless roar as a solid blend of colors shined before him. It was a blank color, a pure white that showed all, yet revealed nothing...

In a moments rush, it roared, the ever-lasting dull sound of a moment. But in a flash, everything came into focus. The sounds of animals moving and chattering filled the air, the vibrant flow of the wind caressing the land and the hazy sounds of a waterfall damping everything around it.

"Good Morning, Master." A gentle voice filled his ears. "If you are hungry, there seems to be plenty of prey around us. Even you could eat your fill here without killing too many of them." The voice chuckled lightly as the warmth of the voice's chakra embraced his body.

Blinking a few times, Silver sat up slowly as he felt his body protest in return. Resting his head on his right hand, he took a moment to focus on his body.

Taking in a deep breath, the sounds of the air filled his mind for a moment before he released a deep sigh. His body was more or less currently crippled. Thinking back at what was the potential cause of his misery, he also wondered briefly what he should eat.

Images flashed before him. A creature of gold, leader of the Shadowed Sun. He remembered now, his last fight. It was a demon lord that almost rivaled his powers. Or at least did.

Flexing his left hand into and from a fist, Silver slowly got up as he felt his body protest loudly against him. He felt the pain course through his body as he slowly stretched.

He was tired.

Looking up at the blue skies, he blinked as he once again realized how drained he was. He was at his limits, though the final fight between him and the Golden General was fun it was also extremely brutal.

His body was barely functioning as it was and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would be months before he could regain his original strength. His recovery would have been faster but he was also drained spiritually. There wasn't enough excess power for him to carelessly indulge in mass regeneration. It would take weeks if not months as well to restore his reserves of soul. Even his fox, Lady, one of the greatest nine tailed fox demons in existence was almost tapped.

He then briefly wondered were he was as he saw a little furry animal with long ears that stuck upwards and plump body hop by. With a deft lash of his left arm, Silver simply stabbed his hands at the general direction of the small creature as the energy of his soul lashed out and pierced the creature.

It died upon impact.

"I think they call it a rabbit…" Lady stated slowly to his ear as he walked over to it and examined it.

It seemed edible.

Grabbing the creature by the back of its neck with his left hand, Silver studied it for a moment and deciding that he didn't want to eat it raw right now, he simply held the rabbit before his right hand as he concentrated.

Within moments pulsating silver fire formed on his right palm and with a thought jumped onto the rabbit, engulfing it within its flames as it simply ate away at the fur and skin before receding into the meat.

"I hope you like it well done master, I took off the fur." Lady announced in amusement as her master licked his lips in anticipation.

Sinking his teeth into the meat, Silver chewed for a few moments before swallowing the rather tasty morsel.

Plunking down onto his rear, Silver found himself staring at the sky as he ate. His fox settled down around him, her chakra giving her a faint form as he slowly wondered why he was here in this strange world.

Licking his lips, Silver burped as he finished off his meal and with a grin and raised eyebrow, began to look around for another one of those 'rabbits'.

The sun continued to embrace his body, seemingly wrapping him in both light and warmth. Following his guide through the village, Naruto found himself walking at a relaxed pace as he trailed through the many buildings and streets.

He honestly didn't know were he was going, but he found that his feeling of contentment under the warm sun was being continually prodded.

The village itself was amazing, with its artfully constructed buildings around the living forests. It was as if the creator of this village had simply taken a large patch of forest, laid down stone lines and littered building around the busy streets.

All around him was the people who lived in this village of leaf. He had guessed that they had lived here all their lives as his memories didn't tell him of those who came or left. Heck, his memories didn't recognize more then two or three faces out of the countless he had met. But, there was vibrancy in the air that seemed almost apart of the trees and stones around everywhere, just as he remembered during his younger years...

However, there was a constant thing that didn't seem to have changed since his youth. The cold stares he remembered still grazed at him with every passing eye. It seemed worse, actually, since those days. He knew now why he was hated and the people's cold gazes seemed to have gotten colder, as if they blamed him for knowing why they blamed him.

It was with the strength of sun though, that he didn't allow their cold hearts to touch him. Oh he knew their unspoken wish, it was voiced through their very eyes. They had wished that he didn't exist, that he was simply a horrible stain in their lives that would never wash away.

He wanted to… to…

Clenching his teeth, Naruto tried to suppress his inner desire. He refused to stare them in the eye lest they knew his deepest wish… a wish that he was rather fond of.

It wasn't his first time trying to block out his thoughts in this area. He had grown used to it, as he knew it would solve nothing. But he still wished for it. For it had been the sole reason of existence so long ago.

He had changed hadn't he? Since those days of old…

He knew that he was missing most of his memories. Most of the time it seemed as though his memories were nothing more then someone else's wish for their existence. If it weren't for the fact that he felt he should know more, should strive to find that man who was cloaked in shadows, he wouldn't have bothered. In fact he might have given into his deepest desire…

Taking a deep breath, Naruto once again tried to ignore that part of his mind, its seductive heeds for him to listen. To obey, to give into…

His bubble popping, Naruto once again found that his good cheer evaporated like a warm dream, instantly fading and leaving him back to the endless cold.

Then there was another one, another cold stare from a young woman who was smiling but a moment ago. She passed him without word but her gaze said more then enough.

Naruto quickly found the dark parts of his mind reaching forward, demanding to be heard.

Kill them! Kill them all! That is why I exist! Wide eyed, Naruto found his hard gaze tracking to the back of the passing woman, his urge to destroy peaking as he found the current object of his hatred…

With one forced, hard blink, Naruto willed that part of his mind back as he turned his head around. He had changed since those days of old. He had found a dream and no longer floated around aimlessly. He had found the dream to work towards, to find the man who smiled at him with kind eyes…

Alone! The faded echoing voice in his mind stated before it seemed to blink and vanish back to its originated from… the many memories of those cold gazes.

Eyes clear, Naruto found a small masking smile tug at his lips. He had survived here for longer then he remembered and he would survive still. He would not harm them without cause, for they were nothing to him, just haunting memories that simply wouldn't go away.

Picking up his pace to catch up with the slightly distant form of his guide, Naruto ignored the slightly fearful expression of one young lady who had turned around. Her eye were filled with fear as though a wild beast was, but for a moment, stalking her from behind…

The sounds of running water were the first indication that the scenery was still changing. It was a calm sound as there was no one else around.

Still ever following his Anbu guide, he found her slowing down as they approached a bridge… a bridge that tingled the back of his mind and he found himself forgetting everything as… as… as something nostalgic washed over him.

He found himself walking to the bridge, his feet moving on its on accord as he forgot everything else.

Moving to the edge, to the side of the wooden bridge, were there were railing to protect one from falling in, Naruto found his hands caressing a small area on the top of the rail. His hands ran along the warm and smooth wood, a faint feeling of recognition wash through him anew as he found himself lightly hopping up onto the railing, sit so that his left leg was laying on its side, his right leg dangling freely.

I've done this before… sitting here… and… waiting… for something… Naruto mentally stated as he found himself staring on what he was sitting on.

The Anbu however, memorized what had just happened and figured that the Fifth would want to hear about this. It seemed that Naruto at least recognized his team's original meeting place for missions and training. So a complete recovery was not only possible, but potentially quick if his mind would recognize enough things to jog his memories back.

With a slight frown that only the most elite shinobis would notice, the Anbu turned her masked face towards her trailing charge. "The rest of team seven will meet you here. I have fulfilled my tasks." She stated calmly and turned to leave.

"Thank you… for helping me… and.." Naruto replied a bit shyly. He wasn't sure how to thank her, so he decided to be blunt. "And for not showing your hate for me… even though you too must also despise me, deep down..."

The Anbu had paused for a moment, when Naruto had started to speak, but she didn't acknowledge his words as she simply left, vanishing in a small wisp of smoke and a rustle in the still air.

There was a moment of silence after his guide had left. He found that he was slightly happy. True she had said nothing to him as she left, but his had spoken with his heart, his words simply the truth. She never once gazed on him with the cold eyes like everyone else. He could almost feel it however, what she masked behind her cool gaze. She disliked him as much as anyone else, perhaps more as he realized that it was many shinobis who died fighting the demon within him…

But, she had shown none of it, making it easier to be around her. She had never really said anything to him unless needed, but neither had he ever heard her whisper behind his back, or even disproval of she always needed to wait for him to catch up.

Staring wistfully at where she was standing but moments before, Naruto found himself idly wondering were she was going and what she had to do.

With a slight frown, Naruto noticed that other people were approaching. It wasn't just a feeling, but a collection of senses. The sound of their light steps, the faint voices but most of all, there was something else, tugging at the back of his mind. It was unexplainable, but he knew, even without all his other senses that not one, but two people were currently walking up this bridge.

Turning around, Naruto felt confused for a moment as a moment of nostalgia once again wash over him. A boy with black hair leading the way with a pink haired girl trailing slightly behind, her voice floating in the still air.

The moment instantly vanished as the two people stopped and stared.

Uchiha Sasuke walked along at his usual pace towards their usual meeting place. While his teammate, Harono Sakura, trailed after him in their usual traditional walks, with her badgering him about something while he more or less ignored her unchanging requests.

They had been together in team seven for almost three years now and though she had earned his trust and respect, it still didn't change the fact that she paid far too much attention to her heart then to being a shinobi.

If it weren't for the fact that she genuinely cared for him, he would have completely ignored her all together.

Looking up at the skies, Sasuke found himself momentarily mesmerized by the passing clouds. Three years… he thought to himself as he contemplated on what had transpire between his the time he had graduated till now.

He had trained hard with the intent of killing his older brother for he was left alive but for a single purpose, to become an avenger, as he was meant to be. He was to gain power to rightfully destroy what had slaughtered his clan and parents. It was his duty.

To that extent he had even tried leaving his village, his home, to attempt to gain power… yet… yet he was outdone, outdone by a single boy who he and everyone else had thought to be worthless, a dead last shinobi without talent or skills.

It grated on him to no end at how someone who seemed to be inferior in every way, always seemed to grow in the midst of time when they were all busy surviving and yet he still leapt ahead by leaps and bounds.

He couldn't not fathom how much his comrade had grown throughout their time together yet still remain the same annoying, loudmouthed, hyperactive person he was. He had gained great skills and that 'Rasengan' technique was easily the stronger when compared to his own chidori, and the fact that chidori allowed for more pinpoint damage didn't help much.

Sasuke focused on a cloud as he felt himself frown. What had he been doing since the tragedy of his clan? He had tried to gain power, but he was so seemingly effortlessly surpassed that even he was slightly amused.

Uzumaki Naruto, the lone ninja in the village that was so open, yet was a complete enigma. Sasuke knew what everyone else knew, that Naruto grew up with no parents and as he discovered later, no family or even friends. He understood that loneliness, having no family and he also understood why he had caused pranks as a child though it irked him at how proud he was of his mischievousness. An Uchiha would never be caught dead pulling one of Naruto's jokes. As Sasuke had recently learnt, an Uchiha was supposed to be a point of respect, a guiding light for those weaker then himself to follow.

Then the incident at the temple had occurred. It was something completely unexpected. It was supposed to be a simplistic D rank mission where they were to bring a simple package to the head of the temple.

But while Naruto went in to explore the temple, his chakra manifested and it seemed to explode, injuring even him while he stood outside the rather large temple building. Dozen of others, mostly the monks of the temple, were also hit.

When the dust settled, at the center of the explosion laid the still orange clothed form of Naruto. He wouldn't respond to anything, or anyone and even flailed in a wordless scream once.

Kakashi quickly took charge and they all rushed back to Konoha as fast as their bodies could push themselves.

The Fifth then took custody of Naruto and Sasuke never heard from that boy again… and it irked him. He was apart of the team. One of exactly three others that he found he could trust. That was well over ten months ago and still no word other then that Naruto was moved from the hospital and to an unknown location.

Team seven itself, seemed to have suffered during that time. Without its third member, the mission became fairly difficult and though he and Sakura grew during that period, it never felt quite right without a certain loudmouth interrupting their lives with his unnecessary chatter and loud voice.

Even Sakura seemed to have dulled a little. Her worry for a person she considered a friend tugged at the back of her mind. However, her quaint requests for dates had been slowly dwindling, much to his relief. But they both knew that there could never really be a date with Naruto still hospitalized. His condition was an ever-constant worry at the back of their minds and even when they sat down to rest during a mission they either reminisced about old times or talked about the mission. Any date they had would have gone downhill.

But he still held hope. Even though he would never admit it, he was looking forward to seeing Naruto again, to outdo that boy, his rival, and show off his skills. He had not been resting during their time apart. No, he had been training like mad, for this was his chance, to move ahead and recreate that gap that existed between them. Naruto caught up far to quickly and Uchiha Sasuke wasn't arrogant enough anymore to let this chance slip by him.

Still, there was no word on Naruto's condition and he knew that after their ritual greeting of Sakura yelling at Kakashi for being late who had even worse excuses, Sakura would once again ask about Naruto's condition and ask if there was any improvement.

With a hint of a smile on his face, Sasuke found himself hoping that there was an improvement. He was itching to show off his honed skills, though he would never admit it to anyone, he truly enjoyed the pressure of keeping ahead of his rival… his friend…

Then as they approached the bridge, Sasuke felt that something was off and immediately focused ahead, his peripheral vision showing that Sakura had felt that something was wrong also.

Slowling to a stop with Sakura at his side, Sasuke couldn't but help feel anger, pure distasteful anger at what stood before him. A young blond boy in dark clothing that he settled on dark blood was sitting were Naruto was supposed to! No one but his teammate had that right. Sasuke was surprised at his own reaction of anger, but it didn't stop his minor bloodlust.

Beside him, Sakura was also narrowing her eyes. This was her team's spot! The meeting place for Team Seven, not some bumbling, crimson dressed idiot that was currently sitting on the railing of the bridge. That was Naruto's spot!

Their emotions of resentment fairly saturated the air with their intent to harm, one who looked to all the world as serene and placid while beside him was a young lady who more or less looked ready to rip flesh from bone, all she needed was her victim…

Then the person lifted his head and there was a collective gasp as the killing aura instantly vanished into surprise. Before them sat the ever proud, hyperactive, loudmouthed ninja, Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto blinked a few times as he stared at the two quickly approaching people in apprehension. But he fought back against the fearful force or at least try to hide it from his face. After all, he did feel their killing intent not two seconds ago and he felt uneasy as they continued to close the gap between them.

Taking in a single breath, Naruto found himself studying the faces of the two approaching people. They didn't run at him, but neither did they leisurely stroll towards him. They moved simplistically at a brisk pace, their faces wry with emotions.

Looking at the person named Uchiha Sasuke, Naruto couldn't readily pinpoint any readable emotions but he emanated a slightly amused and or happy feeling. As though he was seeing an irritating yet comforting sight. Did this mean that they were friends once? That they got along together enough to trust one another?

Shifting his gaze to the pink haired lady who was more energetic with her expressions and movements, she looked like she was jogging towards him, but with Sasuke effortlessly keeping pace while looking to all the world that he was simply taking a stroll, it created an offbeat picture.

Haruno Sakura. He vaguely remembered someone like her during his youth. She would have been a young girl then, who cried at the torment by others. They had even talked a few times, sitting in a park as they tentatively traded stories. There were some things in common, such as being made fun by others and being alone, but there were also differences. She seemed like a kinder person then he was, there was no hate or malice in her, like him.

However, she quickly found a friend and forgotten about him. Not that he minded too much. After all, her happiness was important also. But… what had happened? Why did she act liked she knew him so? The last thing he remembered was sitting on the swing talking to her, though he never saw it coming, it was the last time they would talk when a blonde haired girl quickly yelled out her name and they had left, never noticing him, leaving behind an empty farewell…

Did he get the chance to talk to her again? Was she also a person that he could call friend? Was she a person to trust and laugh with?

Blinking, Naruto quickly crushed those thoughts as other memories surfaced. He was ridiculed a lot during his childhood. He had trusted some but they ended up leaving him, some returning only to taunt and fight, he never knew a true moment with happiness while in the company of others. Though she never did really taunt him, she never really talked to him again either.

No. It would have been simpler if they had never met again. He did not need false hopes and he sure didn't need imaginary bonds called 'friendship' to raise his moral. He was Uzumaki Naruto. He existed for one purpose, to… destroy every human…

Looking down, Naruto halted those thoughts before they took hold once again. He found himself staring at a faint outline of his own reflection within the gentle stream below. He had found someone to acknowledge him and the fact of it was enough. He would not dream of friendship as it brought nothing but pain.

The man who was cloaked in the shadows of his vague memories however, was different. He always had this warm laugh, a rich smile and though he could not see the person's eyes, Naruto knew that they stared down fondly at him.

"Naruto!" a youthful feminine cry pierced the air and shattered his thoughts as he looked up to see the person known as Sakura stop before him, her eyes wide with disbelief, joy and excitement… and… and he was sure that there was another. Another person hidden in the shadows that looked over him fondly as well… just like the man in the shadows.

Turning his head slightly, Naruto then focused on the young man as he simply smirked at the person before him. It was a self-confident smirk, one that told volumes about his attitude and outlook on others. It was clear that he thought himself superior to everyone present.

It was a similar smirk, Naruto decided, to those bullies that taunted him endlessly during his youth. Blinking once, Naruto then forced down the urge to wipe that smirk off the Uchiha face and instead tried his best to make a fake smile. Just like the one he used to make all the adults ignore him. He simply put on a fake, open and clueless mask. It was his mask that he would use to hide his true self away from the world.

It was easy.

As his eyes narrowed and his mouth turned into a large grin, he felt the two before him relax slightly at the sight of his mask. He didn't remember anything about them. He didn't even know how they knew him or even how he was suppose to treat them.

But something told him that there was something amiss. That the two people in front of him were expecting… something… something from him, though he honestly had no clue what he was supposed to do.

Blinking Naruto tried his hardest to remember. To remember whom these people before him were and how they had known each other. He could see it in their eyes. There was trust and mirth, unity and comfort as they stared at him. But he didn't feel what their eyes stated. He did not feel anything but the empty void that had accompanied him throughout his life. And within the reaches of the void there was even slight animosity lurking at the edges of his mind.

With nothing coming to mind at how he should react, he instead replayed what he had seen other do so often. He knew their names as they were inscribed on the paper that the Hokage had given. So he finally put to use what he had seen so many times as he watched from the shadows. He had studied others, as there was little he could do since they mostly refused to even acknowledge him.

Raising his head slightly so he could clearly look them in the eye, Naruto repeated what he saw done by other so many times in his life. "Good afternoon, Haruno-san, Uchiha-san. How are you today?" Naruto finished almost lamely. He had never said those words to anyone and found that there was something lacking in his tone.

Both people froze as Naruto referred to them so politely. There was obviously something wrong here. Naruto never addressed them in a formal manner. This was not the Naruto that they had learned and grew with. This was someone different.

Sasuke frowned as he assumptions were answered when he had first seen Naruto sitting on the bridge. There was something amiss when they had made their way over. For one thing, Naruto didn't greet Sakura. He always greeted her. He most likely would have greeted her if he were to die from saying her name. There was something very wrong here and the change of wardrobe was only the beginning.

Greeting Sakura was as much part of Naruto was his stupid grin. Then when they got closer, Sasuke noted with slight annoyance that he didn't respond to them in almost any fashion. In fact, as Sasuke reviewed their encounter, he found himself detecting a hint of hatred directed towards them.

It was not the same rivalry hatred that Naruto usually yelled out but true, deep seated hatred. The kind that rivaled his hate for his brother… and Sasuke found himself feeling disturbed that Naruto could release such emtions. It was also unnerving that those brief moment of hate seemed to be directed towards him and Sakura…

Sakura on the other hand wasn't faring as well. She was confused. Naruto seemed off to her, as he didn't greet her arrival as he usually did. And then there was the brief look in his eye that she suspected that even Sasuke missed as Naruto's hair had briefly covered his eyes when he stared at them while they approached.

With a slightly strained smile, Sakura remembered that look well. It was despair that melted into something more menacing. But she shrugged it off. Perhaps he was only annoyed that she was paying attention to Sasuke. Yes… that had to be it. That he was jealous of her attention to Sasuke…

However, who could blame her? Sasuke was still one of the most wanted genin and with the recent graduation of rookie genins, the girls from the previous classes came to haunt their crush.

"Heh heh heh… that's not a nice joke Naruto… I'm glad your awake now but…" Sakura trailed off as she stared into Naruto's eyes and found nothing. With her brow furrowing in confusion, she tried to reason out why Naruto was staring at them so blankly. "So… quit playing around you idiot…"

Sakura suddenly found herself cut short at the word idiot, a word she had used many a time on the person before, instantly drew out a sharp frown from the blonde's lips and the look in his eyes for a moment, grew both harder and colder.

_What's going on?_ Sakura asked herself and even inner Sakura seemed to have faltered.

But then it vanished almost instantly, replaced by that smile that she had seen so often during their missions that she really couldn't picture Naruto without it. It seemed to be as apart of him as his whiskers or his unruly hair.

It was an almost always-comforting smile and had always eased her slightly back then… but now… after seeing the look in his eyes, Sakura found herself beginning to doubt the sincerity of that happy look…

Sure he looked the same, sitting there before him, but his entire aura seemed off. He knew their names but he seemed far more withdrawn and strained. She couldn't quite place the feeling, but it seemed as though Naruto was straining to do something…

Naruto smile didn't change during the entire exchange. His mask had been forged by the loneliest of days and he had well over fifteen years to practice and master his hollow smile. Though his mask showed happiness, to prove to the world that he didn't need them, any of them or ever would, he was in fact rolling around in apprehension.

How was he to deal with this? He had tried his hardest and still was trying to remember things, anything, about his past and why they continued to stare at him expectantly. He knew nothing of talk and chitchat.

Sure he had seen it done dozens of hundreds of millions of times, but when it came down to him applying it… he found that he was falling short in all areas. He never knew these people; he in fact didn't really know anyone. He had seen a few vague faces that almost had a name attached to them, but nothing ever came up.

So began the tense awkward atmosphere where three people stared at each other. There was a blond young man who wore a simple grin, his mask adapting to the odd situation as he simply sat on the railing and took in information about the two people before him.

He had immediately noticed that the picture was slightly off as both people had longer hair and their features seemed slightly more defined then what was shown on the paper. Guessing that the pictures were taken a little while ago, Naruto simply shrugged it off as he instead found himself categorizing the little details about the two people before him.

Sasuke seemed immobile and frozen in time, his penetrating eyes and subtle shifts in weight was the only indication that he was in fact, a living breathing person. His hair was cropped at the neckline and his bangs hooded his eyes. Naruto found himself taking stock of what Sasuke kept visible on his person, the shuriken holster on his right hip and headband tied on his forehead.

Moving onto Sakura, Naruto noted that she wore a mid-thigh one-piece dress with clinging shorts underneath that reached down to slightly above her knees. Her vibrant pink hair flowed down to her back where Naruto lost sight of it. He did note that she wore her headband on top of her head, making him curious as why she wore it like that. He quickly took note of her shuriken holster as well before his thoughts drifted off to the clear blue sky above.

In turn, Sakura and Sasuke took the awkward moment to study their teammate. Other then his colder attitude of indifference, Naruto seemed to have changed for once. His old orange clothing was replaced by what looked like loose crimson black clothing and his hair once short now fell to his neckline.

In-between the moments of yesterday and now, the three ninjas who had once been a team suddenly found themselves lost. The old bonds that once held them together was suddenly cut as one did not know much of his present and the others, they did not know him at all.

No one knew him. A boy whose life was lived in the open, yet completely shrouded by shadows. He was Uzumaki Naruto. A boy who was ignored and forcibly forgotten so that though they would recognize him on sight or without the phrase 'Demon' they would in fact, not realize he was there until something happened. This was his story. A life of hatred, which was only surpassed by inner loneliness…

The air seemed tense as he arrived, his one uncovered eye taking in everything around his students in a glance. They were unsure of themselves.

With a quick sigh, he made his spontaneous entrance with a puff of smoke and a smile. Standing at the end of the railing, on the same side Naruto was sitting, he waved to his team.

"Sorry I am late. I had to discuss a few things with the Hokage." Kakashi stated simply as he turned his almost full attention onto the blonde that was currently staring back at him.

Sakura and her usual screams of denial didn't come up this time but he already knew why. While Naruto on the other hand, continued to stare at him.

He knew that there would be no apparent difference from the picture that was given to Naruto. Having talked to the secretary, he knew what was shown and explained to his young charge. The picture was a purposely-older copy. A year old copy to be precise in hopes that he would remember something about his team. Judging by how Sakura and Sasuke were eyeing Naruto… that course of action seemed to have failed…

Bringing forth his calm and so ever experienced smile, he simply walked in front of Naruto and squatted before him.

"Hatakate-sensie." Naruto greeted with a small nod of his head. Digging back into his rather blurry memories of school… Naruto vaguely remembered that this was a proper gesture from new students to a teacher. He wasn't sure if this applied here but he simply didn't know what else to do.

The wide eye gaze he received from his team was anything but sterling.

Sasuke simply raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Since when had Naruto been so respectful? Sakura had both eyes wide open and her jaw hung loose in shock. Naruto knew their teachers last name and didn't scream out something! Why was he acting so weird!

Kakashi on the other hand scratched at his cheek in slight embarrassment. He had never been so formally addressed and he found it both embarrassing and disheartening.

He found himself reminiscing about the earlier days of team seven, when they were struggling with life and each other while adapting and learning to coexist.

With a cheery smile, Kakashi shrugged off distant thoughts and instead decided to let fate play it out. Naruto would remember them in time. He had no doubts about that. What he was uncertain of however, was the simple warning he had received during the talk with two of the legendary three.

If Naruto's seal was gone, then that meant that kyubi was a sudden and very real threat that could come back and haunt them at any given time. But that wasn't the only thing that was bugging him. The simple situation that Naruto was stronger after his coma was a very interesting turn of events.

Taking into consideration the facts that a person should come out of a coma weaker, since atrophy would set in, weakening the muscles and forcing the person to train their body to simply respond to the easiest of commands so that they could lift more then a spoon.

Naruto on the other hand, was a very different case. As he had heard it, Naruto had simply come out of his coma and within a day, was out and about in his home and within that week, was out training for the last month or so.

It was far from a normal situation considering that fact that he was scared for Naruto's safety when the temple mission had taken a very dark twist. No one knew what had exactly happened or why, but Kakashi himself felt angered at how helpless he had been to prevent it.

Now before him stood the problem of what to do in order to get Naruto to remember whom he was. Though he doubted that he had the abilities or the knowledge to perform such an act since if there was a way, the two of the legendary three would have known or discovered shortly.

Taking but a moment for those thoughts to run through his head, Kakashi then decided that they had wasted enough time as it was. He had a team to lead today and there was a higher potential risk factor now that Naruto was with them.

It was a simple C, potential B rank mission that involved a group of bandits preying on Konoha merchants as they headed north, towards Lightening Country to trade with their various cities and Kumagakure itself.

So in response to these brazen acts of theft, the merchant guild in Konoha had formally requested that this situation be rectified as soon as possible. Though this mission would have taken the average chuunin team but a few days to complete, it was deemed to insignificant for anything higher then genin rank. This simple mission was with out a doubt going to contain a lot of violence.

Had Naruto been his old self, Kakashi wouldn't have doubted that the boy would have been jumping and hollering in joy for a mission like this. But there have been quite a few missions like this for a while now.

The sound's invasion had hindered the village greatly and for himself, the legendary copy ninja, Kasashi, these low end C/B rank mission were apart of his 'Recuperation' times in between his usual A/S rank jobs. Heck. Even this simple job had an extra baggage with it, an A rank mission for himself as soon as he found the time to accomplish it after they dealt with the bandits.

With a light sigh that he wouldn't have as much time to himself as usual, he quickly noted the responses of his team towards one another and then coughed once to get their attention before he told them of today's spectacular mission.

Naruto found that he really was agitated as he walked down the warn pathway away from Konoha, a place that he had mixed thoughts upon.

Though he had never left the village before, he felt that the place was something akin to a place of ice, where everyone gave him cold and hated looks, glances, sneers, muttered jobs and curses. It all was there, the usual norm that left bile building at the back of his throat and brimming hatred with the essence of a growing forest fire.

But it was also a place of rest for himself, a home to him since it was the only place he ever knew. The people in this place, save the Hokage herself, were nothing more then an annoyance to him. It was a stain to an otherwise decent area in the forest.

Hokage. Those two syllables seemed to hold a lot of meaning to others as they treated her with reverence, something that he had never experienced himself, but so desperately wanted to.

What did that word really mean? What was it to him? Was it important? Was it something he valued? Strived towards obtaining? Or was it a word that meant hatred towards him? Did this Hokage dislike him as well? Did he despise Hokage like he did with almost everyone else in the village?

The questions swirled around him as he walked on as the scared pathway began to enter a deeper part of the forest.

Everything began to fade however, as they continued on the pathway, the thickening forest were they occasionally passed a merchant or two on their way to sell their wares in Konoha. To Naruto himself, he was beginning to feel at peace once again as he was swimming in a sea of leaf green, dirt and bark brown littered with rock gray.

Here… here he could feel at peace and allowed the village hatred fade away like a morning mist as this place held no malice towards him. He didn't feel threatened here though it was undoubtedly more dangerous since his memories recalled stories of animals with lots of teeth and a there was always more then one of them around.

- December 25 2003

Author's Final Note.

- June 01 2010 -

I wish to begin with a simple Hello, to all those who read this.

The time is quickly approaching that is the magical number of my current age divided by 2 = years in the world of fanfiction. Both reading, base start point, and writing, far after I began to read.

I started with Ranma fics. I had one day stumbled over a story when the internet was young and Geocity was the primary host of everything. They are vague years that I simply recall with a fond fuzzy feelings and memories of CRT nostalgia.

In the many following years since I began to write a lot has changed. My writing style and ideas have matured since I began the stories presented in the short list on my profile. Many themes and ideas have also changed as good ideas flourished and faded with the passing years.

I have written a lot, most of which will never leave the scrap folders on my hard drives, and thus I am sad, yet relieved, to announce the decision to let Red Howling enter the realm of completed fiction. The idea was sketchy at best. I started the story as a impulsive idea that I badly glued together with other ideas. I have other chapters and tidbits but ultimately I will not continue the story. The ending is vague enough to be a ending to a small arc but also vague enough to end a story. I have chosen the latter.

I will allow you, the few readers who remember this account, to let your imagination take you where it may.

Re-starting the series is a no go since the 7 years that have passed has changed many things. The story was flat, simple and listless. I tried to buy some time to scrape something more together but it was futile as I ended up simply using it as a figurative one-shot to make a far superior series. At least superior in theory. =P

As for the rest of my series, Red Moon and the Zelda fic, I will finish those. The plots were thin enough that I didn't need to pretend to have something greater. Red Moon was a test in page limitation and bad poetry while Zelda was my first serious attempt at fan-fiction. These will be the ones I focus on before releasing anything else. Unreleased stories are safe since lack of updates can be ignored. A release story, on the other hand, is a promise to the people that it will be done at some point. A sad, unfulfilled promise that far too many good authors and stories succumbs to.

The big question. How long?

In all honesty, the next decade or five. My free time has become a luxury that life just simply consumes far too easily to be comfortable and yet I still cling to the amazing world of Fan Fiction. I still write semi-regularly but it is mainly original fiction that commands my attention. I have many ideas but I have also realized that I am a one trick pony in fanfics. My heroes are all the same, my plot lines equally so.

I attempt to hide it with different series, something that a quick comparison would shatter, and different characters but I feel that I had slinked off at a good time. I was no longer writing quality but slowly degrading chapters of babbling gibberish and overly dramatic poses.

The interval years has gently built my writing confidence to a level where I can openly weep at the immature style I had began with years ago. I look back at them fondly but I also realize the short comings that I had built into the foundation of the stories that I cannot fix. I prefer that they stay that way. A mark of my growth as a person, writer and dreamer.

The fiction that I will release in the future and the fiction I plan to continue will hold 2 major ideals. Quality and Completion. Red Howling failed the first and then entered the second.

If I have changed and improved in a way that creates more enjoyable stories, then my growth was huge. If not then I still have a long way to go.

I will leave with a simple message to all those who wish to pursue fanfiction. Keep on Writing.

It does not matter how good or bad a story is. Dream it. Write it. Read it. From these simple and short stories will slowly become something more. It will solidify in your vision and your writing.

You will improve with every story, every idea and every character. You will write good fiction, amazing works that will be remembered years down the road and bad fiction, works that you all but vaporize your hard drive to remove all traces of evidence.

Be bound only by your writing speed. On paper or by keyboard. At best, become so excited that you start skipping paragraphs as you desperately attempt to write it all down. At worst, a one word paragraph placeholder like 'plot' or 'sword' or 'hero speek'.

If you follow those 3 words, I can promise you that you will improve. It won't be done in leaps and bounds but it will come. Slowly, subtly and gradually. One day you will look back and laugh or cry as you re-read your early works. This is a sign of growth and be proud of what you had completed.

Like a child learning to walk you will look back at your old clumsy self and smile.

I had forgotten those word's meaning and was hit by a veritable 5 year hiatus, ignoring the genius that is Narutardo.

I am not dead but I am still learning.

So please bare with me as I continue to stumble around in the grandiose world of fiction and its many amazing ideas, stories and people. I will forever write and read but I will also encourage others to do the same.

Thanks,

Perfect Psionic Soldier

Time Between Updates:

2380 days

or

6 years, 6 months and 6 days.

2380 days can be converted to one of these units:

205,632,000 seconds

3,427,200 minutes

57,120 hours

340 weeks


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